(11 Mar 2025) We’re thrilled to announce the launch of openRxiv as an independent nonprofit to oversee bioRxiv and medRxiv, the world’s leading preprint servers for life and health sciences. openRxiv ensures that researchers worldwide can continue to share discoveries rapidly and openly. With a researcher-led governance model, openRxiv strengthens the foundation of preprint sharing, empowering scientists to communicate findings at the speed of discovery.
What Are Preprints, and Why Do They Matter?
Preprints are early versions of scientific papers that researchers post online before formal peer review. This allows other scientists to read, evaluate, and build upon new findings right away—dramatically accelerating discovery.
The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of preprints for real-time data sharing, helping scientists share discoveries, develop treatments, and inform public health decisions faster than ever before.
Preprints also foster collaboration beyond academia, enabling industry professionals, policymakers, and the public to stay informed and contribute to ongoing discussions.
“Preprints have proven indispensable for accelerating discovery, particularly in urgent scientific and public health contexts,” said Dr. Richard Sever, Co-Founder, bioRxiv & medRxiv. “By establishing openRxiv as an independent nonprofit, we are securing the future of bioRxiv and medRxiv as trusted, researcher-led platforms that will continue to serve the global scientific community.”
From research initiative to independent nonprofit
bioRxiv (focused on life sciences) and medRxiv (focused on health and clinical research) began as projects supported by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) in collaboration with partner institutions. Their overwhelming success made one thing clear: preprints needed a stable, independent, and researcher-driven home to continue thriving.
openRxiv was created to provide an independent, nonprofit framework dedicated exclusively to the sustainability and governance of bioRxiv and medRxiv.
Researchers can continue submitting preprints with the same ease and accessibility but with the added assurance of a long-term, researcher-led model that keeps preprint sharing open, sustainable, and adaptable to scientists’ evolving needs. See more in our FAQs.
Source: OpenRxiv
