(1 Apr 2026) “…for a long time, the predominant publishing model has not aligned with what scientists want and need from dissemination of their work.
As early as 1991, pre-print servers began to show how open access (OA) could work. Then came organisations like the Public Library of Science (PLOS) that offered an open-access model that really did have the potential to break the monopoly of established commercial journals. Then Plan S – an effort by European funders to increase the share of journal articles that can be read without a subscription – was formalised. For Cancer Research UK this had great potential. In theory it allowed us to be part of a solution to improve the accessibility and affordability of the dissemination of science that matters most to us.
The problem is – it hasn’t worked. At least not in its current form…”
Read the announcement in full here.
