Conflict of Interest

Conflict of Interest and Publication Ethics Guidelines

Conflict of Interest (COI)

• Conflicts of interest refer to any situation that interferes with, or could reasonably be perceived to interfere with, the full and objective presentation, peer review, editorial decision-making, or publication of research and non-research papers submitted to International Pharmacy Acta (IPA).
• Conflicts of interest arise when an individual’s professional judgment regarding primary interests (such as research credibility) is unduly influenced by secondary interests (such as financial gain). All authors must explicitly state all potential conflicts of interest in their cover letter and within the dedicated “Conflicts of Interest” section during submission. If no conflicts exist, authors must state: “The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests to disclose.”
• Editors and reviewers are also strictly required to disclose any conflicts of interest and will be immediately recused from handling or reviewing the affected manuscript.
• Full transparency regarding conflicts of interest is mandatory. Failure to disclose conflicts can lead to immediate rejection or, if discovered post-publication, retraction in accordance with COPE guidelines.
• Conflicts may be financial, professional, personal, or institutional.

Conflict of Financial Interests

Financial conflicts include, but are not limited to:

• Receiving reimbursement, fees, funding, research budgets, or salaries from an organization that may financially benefit or lose from the publication of the article.
• Holding stocks, shares, or financial investments in commercial entities with a stake in the research outcomes.
• Holding, applying for, or licensing patents directly related to the content of the manuscript.

Authorship and Composition

International Pharmacy Acta adheres strictly to the authorship guidelines established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). An author is defined strictly as an individual who has made significant intellectual contributions to the work. Authorship must satisfy all four of the following criteria:

1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work.
2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
3. Final approval of the version to be published.
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Contributors who do not meet all four criteria—such as those who only provided general supervision, routine technical assistance, data collection, or financial support—should not be listed as authors but should be recognized in the “Acknowledgments” section. The corresponding author must confirm that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

Acknowledgments

Individuals who contributed to the study or manuscript preparation but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the “Acknowledgments” section, with their explicit permission. Furthermore, all sources of material, technical, and financial support—including grants, corporate funding, or institutional backing—must be fully disclosed.

Author Information and Identifiers

Authors are required to provide accurate and consistent bibliographic information (names, affiliations, and name spellings) to ensure correct indexing in international databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Authors should maintain consistency with their previous publication profiles.

• Unique IDs: International Pharmacy Acta strongly encourages all authors and reviewers to register and provide their ORCID iD to ensure transparent attribution of research activities.

Author Alterations

Any additions, deletions, or rearrangements of author names in the authorship list after initial submission must be approved in writing by all authors. The corresponding author must submit a formal request explaining the rationale for the change to the Editor-in-Chief, accompanied by written confirmation from every author (including the added or removed author). Any unresolved disputes regarding authorship must be resolved by the authors’ host institutions prior to editorial processing.

Citation Ethics

Research and review papers must provide accurate, relevant, and robust citations to support all claims. Inappropriate citation practices—such as excessive self-citation, coordinated citation rings, citing sources without reading them, or relying exclusively on secondary reviews rather than primary sources—are strictly monitored and prohibited by the editorial board. All cited literature must be peer-reviewed and directly relevant to the scientific arguments presented.