International Pharmacy Acta (IPA) is committed to the highest standards of publication ethics and integrity. The journal’s ethical policy is strictly based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. All participants in the publication process—authors, reviewers, and editors—are required to adhere to these ethical mandates. For comprehensive guidance on ethical publishing, please visit publicationethics.org.
Manuscript Screening and Peer Review Process
All papers submitted to IPA undergo a rigorous evaluation process:
Initial Screening: Manuscripts are first assessed by the editorial team for scope relevance and technical compliance.
Plagiarism Detection: Before proceeding to peer review, all submissions are screened using advanced plagiarism detection software to ensure originality.
Double-Blind Peer Review: Manuscripts meeting the journal’s standards are assigned to an Associate Editor and sent for double-blind peer review (where both authors and reviewers remain anonymous).
Expert Evaluation: Papers are assessed for scientific quality, clarity, and methodological rigor by experts selected from the Editorial Review Board and international scientific community. The Editor-in-Chief holds final authority over all editorial decisions.
Obligations of Editors
Neutrality: Editors must evaluate manuscripts based solely on their intellectual and scientific merit, without regard to the authors’ race, gender, religious beliefs, or institutional affiliation.
Confidentiality: The editor and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than those involved in the professional review process.
Conflict of Interest Management: Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor’s own research without written consent.
Integrity Assurance: If an editor is presented with convincing evidence of errors or misconduct in a published article, they shall facilitate the prompt publication of an erratum, expression of concern, or retraction as per COPE flowcharts.
Obligations of Authors
Reporting Standards: Authors must present an accurate account of the research performed and an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data must be represented accurately.
Originality and Attribution: Authors must ensure their work is entirely original. All sources that influenced the research must be appropriately cited. Plagiarism in any form constitutes unethical behavior and is unacceptable.
Disclosure and Funding: Authors are required to submit a Competing Financial Interests Declaration form. All sources of financial support for the project must be disclosed.
Authorship Integrity: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the study. The corresponding author must ensure all co-authors have approved the final version and agreed to its submission.
Redundancy: Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently is considered unethical and is prohibited.
Obligations of Reviewers
Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and may assist the author in improving the paper.
Confidentiality and Objectivity: Any manuscript received for review must be treated as a confidential document. Reviews must be conducted objectively, with clearly supported arguments and no personal criticism.
Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must decline to review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors or institutions.
Reporting Misconduct: Reviewers should notify the editor of any substantial similarity between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.
Handling Ethical Complaints
In cases of alleged misconduct, IPA follows the COPE guidelines for investigation. If convincing evidence of plagiarism or data falsification is found, the journal reserves the right to notify the author’s institution and relevant national regulatory bodies, including the Research Deputy at the Ministry of Health and Medical Education.
