[4] Luck asked about 50 biochemists in the US, United Kingdom, and Canada if an annual volume of critical reviews on biochemistry research would be useful, to which he received positive responses.

Stanford University Press agreed to publish the journal on a three-year contract, with financial assistance from the Chemical Foundation.

[4] Prior to this, Luck's only experience in the publishing industry was working for a summer as a book salesman in Western Canada.

[7] At the completion of the contract with Stanford University Press, the advisory committee of the journal, which included Carl L. Alsberg, Denis Hoagland, and Carl L. A. Schmidt, decided to assume a legal identity as the journal's publisher, though keeping Stanford University Press as the printer.

On December 12, 1934, they submitted articles of incorporation with the California Secretary of State to create Annual Review of Biochemistry, Ltd., which was organized as a nonprofit.

All other members of the editorial committee are appointed by the Annual Reviews board of directors and serve five-year terms.