image: The partnership with JMIR Publications highlights the commitment of these universities to the principles of open science
Credit: JMIR Publications
(Toronto, December 3, 2025) JMIR Publications, a leading independent open-access digital health research publisher, and ZB MED – Information Centre for Life Sciences, Germany's national infrastructure and research hub for data and information in the life sciences, are pleased to announce the continuation and expansion of their collaborative Flat-Fee Unlimited Open Access Publishing Agreement into 2026.
This successful consortium agreement will provide unlimited open access publishing for corresponding authors across eight German institutions. The partnership with JMIR Publications highlights the commitment of these universities to the principles of open science.
"The first year of our publishing partnership with JMIR Publications has been very successful with publishing output growing over previous years,” commented Julia Pieper, Head of Acquisitions for University of Münster Library. “It is important for the library to provide support for OA publishing and remove financial barriers for our researchers to publish in the journals of their choice."
"The expansion of our partnership with ZB MED is a clear demonstration of progressive libraries and consortia actively supporting the fundamental principles of open science, equity, and bibliodiversity,” said Dennis O’Brien, Vice President, Communications and Partnerships for JMIR Publications. “By providing researchers with the same ease of publication in independent, mission-driven journals like those in the JMIR portfolio as they experience with larger publishers ZB MED is fostering a truly open and diverse scholarly landscape for German medical researchers."
The eight institutions participating in the JMIR-ZB MED consortium agreement for 2026 include:
• Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
• University of Duisburg-Essen
• University of Freiburg
• University of Tübingen
• Witten/Herdecke University
• Medizinische Hochschule Hannover
• University of Münster
• Hamburg University of Technology
For researchers affiliated with the participating institutions, the flat-fee agreement eliminates Article Processing Charges (APCs), simplifying the publication process and removing financial barriers to open access publishing in JMIR’s portfolio of over 30 Gold Open Access journals.
The partnership is in effect from January 1, 2026, and covers publishing in all JMIR Publications journals through December 31, 2026.
About ZB Med
ZB MED – Information Centre for Life Sciences is Germany’s national infrastructure and research hub for data and information in the life sciences. Their digital services support research projects that benefit people and the environment.
About JMIR Publications
JMIR Publications is a leading independent open access publisher of digital health research and a champion of open science. With a focus on author advocacy and research amplification, JMIR Publications partners with researchers to advance their careers and maximize the impact of their work. As a technology organization with publishing at its core, they provide innovative tools and resources that go beyond traditional publishing, supporting researchers at every step of the dissemination process. Their portfolio features a range of peer-reviewed journals, including the renowned Journal of Medical Internet Research.
Media Contact:
Dennis O’Brien, Vice President, Communications & Partnerships JMIR Publications
communications@jmir.org
+1 416-583-2040
The content of this communication is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, published by JMIR Publications, is properly cited.