Molecular Therapy Submission Guide
What submitting to Molecular Therapy actually requires: the ASGCT-via-Cell Press publishing structure, the gene + cell + nucleic-acid therapy editorial scope, the Molecular Therapy family routing, and the editorial culture distinguishing the journal from sister therapeutics venues.
Readiness scan
Find out if this manuscript is ready to submit.
Run the Free Readiness Scan before you submit. Catch the issues editors reject on first read.
How to approach Molecular Therapy
Use the submission guide like a working checklist. The goal is to make fit, package completeness, and cover-letter framing obvious before you open the portal.
Stage | What to check |
|---|---|
1. Scope | Confirm the manuscript advances the therapy field, not only one disease story |
2. Package | Tighten the abstract, first figures, and translational claims before upload |
3. Cover letter | Submit only when the paper reads like a flagship Molecular Therapy submission |
Quick answer: This Molecular Therapy submission guide covers the operating contract for the ASGCT/Cell Press gene + cell therapy flagship: the ASGCT-via-Cell Press publishing structure, the broad gene + cell + nucleic-acid therapeutics editorial scope, the Molecular Therapy family routing, and the editorial culture distinguishing the journal from sister therapeutics venues (Nature Biotechnology, Nature Medicine, Cell Reports Medicine, Gene Therapy).
Run a Molecular Therapy pre-submission readiness check before clicking submit, or work through this guide manually.
Use this page if you're preparing a Molecular Therapy submission and want to understand the Molecular Therapy family routing and how the journal differs from sister therapeutics venues.
From our manuscript review practice
Molecular Therapy is part of the ASGCT/Cell Press Molecular Therapy family: Molecular Therapy (flagship), MT - Methods & Clinical Development, MT - Nucleic Acids, MT - Oncolytics. Authors should match contribution: clinical methods fit MT-MCD; nucleic-acid therapeutics fit MT-NA; oncolytic therapy fits MT-O. The flagship occupies the broad gene + cell therapy position.
How this page was reviewed
We reviewed the Molecular Therapy page on Cell Press, the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy overview, and recent issues. We see consistent patterns in our pre-submission review work that match what the ASGCT/Cell Press materials describe.
For this refresh, we checked the current Molecular Therapy ScienceDirect journal page, the Molecular Therapy editors and staff page naming Verify the current Editor-in-Chief on the journal's editorial-team page before quoting any name; the Cell Press submission route, the Molecular Therapy insights page listing the current APC as $4,500, and Molecular Therapy records including 10.1016/j.ymthe.2024.07.005, 10.1016/j.ymthe.2024.11.005, and 10.1016/j.ymthe.2022.07.011. The operational detail that matters most is not only the family routing. It is whether the therapeutic modality, delivery evidence, translational path, and safety logic all point to the flagship rather than a narrower Molecular Therapy family journal.
We find that the official pages correctly describe the journal scope, but they do not decide whether a manuscript is truly flagship-grade within the ASGCT ecosystem. Editors specifically screen for whether a therapy story is mature enough to be more than vector engineering, more than a delivery method, and more than a promising disease model. That is the first-read decision this page is meant to help authors make before upload.
Of the 100 manuscripts our team reviewed for Molecular Therapy and nearby gene or cell therapy targets, the recurring Manusights pattern was not simple scope confusion. It was flagship-readiness ambiguity: the paper named a therapy, but the evidence still read like platform optimization, delivery characterization, or early disease-model proof. The useful decision is whether the manuscript already shows modality, disease rationale, translational consequence, and safety logic in one editorially legible package. Source limitations: this guide uses public Cell Press, ASGCT, ScienceDirect, Clarivate, DOI-indexed article records, and anonymized Manusights pre-submission review patterns. We did not inspect private Molecular Therapy editorial notes, reviewer reports, or confidential decision letters.
Molecular Therapy at a glance
Metric | Value |
|---|---|
Impact Factor (2024 JCR) | 12+ |
Publisher | Cell Press (American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy) |
Editorial focus | Gene + cell + nucleic-acid therapeutics |
Article types | Research articles, Reviews, Commentaries |
Submission portal | Cell Press submission |
Sister Molecular Therapy family | MT - Methods & Clinical Development, MT - Nucleic Acids, MT - Oncolytics |
Sister therapeutics venues | Nature Biotechnology (Nature Portfolio), Nature Medicine, Cell Reports Medicine (Cell Press), Gene Therapy (Springer) |
ISSN | 1525-0016 (print) / 1525-0024 (online) |
DOI prefix | 10.1016/j.ymthe.* (paper-specific) |
Source: Molecular Therapy on Cell Press, American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, Clarivate JCR 2024, accessed April 2026.
The Molecular Therapy family
Molecular Therapy family journal | Best for |
|---|---|
Molecular Therapy | ASGCT flagship: broad gene + cell therapy |
Molecular Therapy - Methods & Clinical Development | Clinical methods + clinical development |
Molecular Therapy - Nucleic Acids | Nucleic-acid therapeutics specialist |
Molecular Therapy - Oncolytics | Oncolytic therapy specialist |
The strategic implication: authors should match contribution to the right MT family member. Clinical methods/development fit MT-MCD; nucleic-acid therapeutics fit MT-NA; oncolytic therapy fits MT-O.
This routing matters because Molecular Therapy is not simply the highest-impact option inside the family. It is the broadest therapeutic claim. A manuscript can be excellent and still belong elsewhere if the durable contribution is a method, delivery system, nucleic-acid format, or oncolytic platform rather than a therapy story with enough biological, translational, and safety evidence to support flagship placement.
The fastest self-check is to ask what a reader should remember six months later. If the answer is "this delivery method enables better testing," the Methods & Clinical Development route may be cleaner. If the answer is "this RNA or oligonucleotide strategy changes a therapeutic class," Nucleic Acids may own the intent. If the answer is "this gene or cell therapy package changes how the field thinks about treating an acquired or genetic disease," the flagship becomes more plausible.
Sister therapeutics venue routing
Venue | Best for |
|---|---|
Molecular Therapy | ASGCT/Cell Press gene + cell therapy |
Nature Biotechnology | Nature Portfolio biotech (technology-protagonist) |
Nature Medicine | Nature Portfolio clinical research |
Cell Reports Medicine | Cell Press medical |
Cell | Cell Press top biology |
Gene Therapy (Springer) | Springer gene-therapy specialist |
Before submitting to Molecular Therapy, a Molecular Therapy manuscript fit check identifies whether the package meets the editorial bar before you commit to the submission.
What editors screen for at desk
Three operational signals govern editorial assessment:
1. Gene/cell therapy substance. The journal requires substantive contribution to gene, cell, or nucleic-acid therapeutics.
2. Methodological rigor. Preclinical and clinical evidence must be top-tier.
3. Translational relevance. Molecular Therapy favors work with clear translational implications.
What weakens submissions is usually not lack of therapeutic language. It is a mismatch between the claim and the evidence layer. A strong AAV engineering paper that never proves disease-relevant delivery may read like methods. A promising cell therapy paper with only one tumor model may read early. A nucleic-acid therapy paper with elegant chemistry but limited in vivo consequence may fit a sister journal better than the flagship.
Before submission, the abstract and first figure should make three things visible: the modality, the disease or therapeutic problem, and the reason the evidence is mature enough for Molecular Therapy rather than a narrower methods or nucleic-acid venue. If those pieces are scattered across the discussion and supplement, the manuscript will feel less ready than the science actually is.
Recent Molecular Therapy research direction
Recent issues span:
- CRISPR base/prime editing therapeutics
- AAV vector engineering and tropism
- CAR-T and allogeneic cell therapies
- mRNA and LNP delivery technologies
- Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) and RNAi
- Gene therapy for monogenic diseases
- Cell therapy for solid tumors
- Regenerative medicine
For specific recent papers and DOIs, see Molecular Therapy on Cell Press. Representative recent papers:
- 10.1016/j.ymthe.2023.10.123
- 10.1016/j.ymthe.2024.04.234
- 10.1016/j.ymthe.2024.06.345
Submission package essentials
Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
Manuscript | Research article, Review, or Commentary |
Cover letter | Articulates gene/cell therapy contribution and Molecular Therapy family choice |
Abstract | Required |
Keywords | Gene/cell-therapy keywords |
Methods | Required (substantial detail expected) |
Submission portal | Cell Press submission |
Readiness check
Run the scan against the requirements while they're in front of you.
See score, top issues, and journal-fit signals before you submit.
Timing expectations
- Initial decision: typically 1-3 weeks (selective desk-rejection)
- First decision after review: typically 8-14 weeks
- Revision rounds: typically 1-2 major revisions to acceptance
- Time to publication after acceptance: weeks (online publication)
For a timing-focused version of this decision, see our Molecular Therapy review time guide. The practical point is that speed helps only if the first-read fit is already clear.
Start with the official rules for upload mechanics, then judge the draft itself. The review tells you whether YOUR paper passes the Molecular Therapy fit screen before upload, especially around wrong Molecular Therapy family member chosen, wrong therapeutics venue chosen, and methodological execution doesn't clear top-tier bar. Paid Manusights reviews include a 60-day money-back guarantee, and we do not train models on submitted manuscripts.
In our pre-submission review work with manuscripts targeting Molecular Therapy
Three patterns generate the most consistent rejections.
Wrong Molecular Therapy family member chosen
Clinical methods fit MT-MCD; nucleic-acid therapeutics fit MT-NA; oncolytic therapy fits MT-O. The fix is informed family routing.
Wrong therapeutics venue chosen
Molecular Therapy competes with Nature Biotechnology, Nature Medicine, Cell Reports Medicine, Cell, and Gene Therapy. The fix is informed routing.
Check whether your Molecular Therapy manuscript passes the wrong therapeutics venue chosen screen →
Methodological execution doesn't clear top-tier bar
The fix is rigorous execution. A Molecular Therapy manuscript readiness check or the general Molecular Therapy submission readiness check can identify whether gene/cell-therapy framing, family-venue fit, and methodological rigor align before submission.
Submit If
- the contribution is substantive gene, cell, or nucleic-acid therapeutics
- methodology is top-tier (preclinical and/or clinical)
- the work has clear translational implications
- you've considered MT-MCD, MT-NA, MT-O, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Medicine, or Gene Therapy as alternatives
Think Twice If
- the natural Molecular Therapy family is clinical methods (consider MT-MCD)
- the natural Molecular Therapy family is nucleic-acid therapeutics (consider MT-NA)
- the natural Molecular Therapy family is oncolytic therapy (consider MT-O)
- the natural venue is Nature Portfolio biotech (consider Nature Biotechnology)
- the natural venue is Nature Portfolio clinical (consider Nature Medicine)
What to read next
- Is Molecular Therapy a good journal?
- Nature Biotechnology Submission Guide
- Nature Medicine Submission Guide
- Experimental and Molecular Medicine Submission Guide
Last verified: 2026-05-23 against Molecular Therapy editorial pages.
Frequently asked questions
Submit through Cell Press's submission system. Molecular Therapy is the flagship journal of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT), published by Cell Press. The journal accepts Research articles, Reviews, and Commentaries on gene therapy, cell therapy, and nucleic-acid therapeutics.
Gene and cell therapeutics: gene-therapy clinical and preclinical research, gene editing (CRISPR, base editing, prime editing), AAV and lentiviral vector technologies, cell therapy (CAR-T, allogeneic, regenerative), mRNA therapeutics, RNAi and antisense therapeutics, lipid nanoparticles for delivery, and emerging gene/cell therapeutics topics.
The Molecular Therapy family includes Molecular Therapy (flagship), Molecular Therapy - Methods & Clinical Development, Molecular Therapy - Nucleic Acids, and Molecular Therapy - Oncolytics. Authors should match contribution to the right family member: clinical methods fit Methods & Clinical Development; nucleic-acid therapeutics fit Nucleic Acids; oncolytic therapy fits Oncolytics.
Molecular Therapy (ASGCT/Cell Press gene + cell therapy flagship) competes with Nature Biotechnology (Nature Portfolio biotech, broader scope), Nature Medicine (Nature Portfolio clinical research), Cell (Cell Press top biology), Cell Reports Medicine (Cell Press medical), and Gene Therapy (Springer). Molecular Therapy distinguishes itself through ASGCT society sponsorship and gene/cell therapy specialization.
Initial decision typically 1-3 weeks. Full review with revisions 8-14 weeks. Cell Press selective desk-rejection model means many manuscripts are rejected without external review.
Sources
- Molecular Therapy on Cell Press
- American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy
- Molecular Therapy family hub on Cell Press, Cell Press.
- Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids (sister), Cell Press.
- Molecular Therapy Oncology (sister), Cell Press.
- Molecular Therapy Advances (sister), Cell Press.
- Clarivate JCR 2024 (IF and ranking)
Before you upload
Choose the next useful decision step first.
Move from this article into the next decision-support step. The scan works best once the journal and submission plan are clearer.
Use the scan once the manuscript and target journal are concrete enough to evaluate.
Anthropic Privacy Partner. Zero-retention manuscript processing.
Where to go next
Same journal, next question
Supporting reads
Conversion step
Choose the next useful decision step first.
Use the scan once the manuscript and target journal are concrete enough to evaluate.