For journal editors, it is not easy to precisely foresee the future of a journal and the content of future submissions. The legacy of Oswald Schmniedeberg is to have a broad and open-minded approach to pharmacology. His multiple research interests were extremely useful for the future development of different specialized research areas both in academia and the pharmaceutical industry (Philippu and Seifert 2023b). Schmiedeberg was nominated 18 times (!) for the Nobel Prize, but was never awarded the Prize; probably because his interests were too broad so that he did not follow just one research topic into the greatest detail (Pohar and Hansson 2020). In the tradition of Oswald Schmiedeberg, Naunyn–Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology does not strive to publish research that will be the ultimate basis for a Nobel Prize, but the journal will remain open-minded for every solid research paper in the broad field of pharmacology. We explicitly welcome research from smaller fields of pharmacology with only a small (current) community. Experience has shown that it may take decades until the full scientific importance of research data, initially perceived as “marginal” by protagonists, is recognized (Seifert and Schirmer 2022). Open-mindedness was crucial for the successful transformation of Naunyn–Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology from a “neurotransmitter” journal into a pharmacological journal that now covers many more research topics than 50 years ago (Dats et al. 2023). Scientific diversity is important for the future of the journal.

Genomics refers to the study of the entirety of an organism’s genes, called the genome, including interactions of those genes with each other and with the person’s environment. Genomics emerged in the 1980s and developed with the start of the Human Genome Project, which took 20 years and was completed in 2003, although more than a decade later genomics is still big business. The postgenomic era has made a drastic shift in research methodology. The biological methods for knowledge elucidation and pharmacological approaches to biomarker discovery have been rapidly changed in the postgenomic era. Postgenomics is transforming our understanding of disease and health. Indeed, differential expression of proteins in health and disease holds the key to early diagnosis and accelerating drug discovery. Our improved biomedical knowledge and understanding in the postgenomic era have led to advances in molecular and cellular biological research in the field of pharmacology. The science of pharmacology, which makes use of multi-disciplinary approach in looking into the reciprocal interactions of chemicals on biological systems, can place these advances in the appropriate physiological context of organ systems and intact animals.

Entering the postgenomic era, Naunyn–Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology has faced a major turning point. Naunyn–Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology has published many papers with the use of molecular biology techniques and genetically modified or transgenic animals. While the publication of the submissions which are descriptive and lack mechanistic novelty has been limited, Naunyn–Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology has spared no effort to pick up papers covering research on the role of cellular signal transduction in pharmacology and toxicology.

In the future, Naunyn–Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology will not only further develop the traditional areas of strength for the journal, including neuropharmacology, cardiovascular pharmacology, and more recently, immunopharmacology and tumor pharmacology (Dats et al. 2023) but also will undertake a mission of covering the futuristically attractive pharmacology areas such as those associated with an aging society. These areas include lifestyle diseases-related pharmacology, pharmacology of dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer pharmacotherapy, ocular pharmacology, and dental pharmacology. Naunyn–Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology should expand and enhance the roles of editorials and reviews in the journal. Editorials are defined as an opinion or a view of a member of the editorial board or any senior or reputed faculty written in a journal and may be a commentary on a published article or a topic of current interest which has not been covered by the journal (Nundy et al. 2021). Editorials are expected to cover new developments in the field of pharmacology. We also welcome papers addressing current topis at the interface between pharmacology and society to highlight the overarching responsibility of our discipline (Zehetbauer et al. 2022). Naunyn–Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology will continue to play a vital role in providing a place for communication of state-of-art-research on all aspects of pharmacology and its contribution to human health and to seek feedback from our authors and readers on different ways to further develop the journal and greatly advance the field of pharmacology.