Publication Ethics Statement

The International Journal of Pharma Studies is committed to maintaining high standards of academic integrity, transparency, fairness, and responsible scholarly publishing throughout the publication process.

All parties involved in the publication process—including authors, reviewers, editors, and the editorial team—are expected to act honestly, responsibly, and professionally at every stage of manuscript submission, peer review, publication, and post-publication.

The journal refers to relevant internationally recognized standards and recommendations for publication ethics and research integrity, including guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), where applicable.

Authors' Responsibilities

Authors submitting manuscripts to the International Journal of Pharma Studies are expected to:

Detailed requirements relating to authorship, plagiarism, conflicts of interest, AI use, and other author responsibilities are provided in the journal's relevant policies.

Research and Publication Integrity

The International Journal of Pharma Studies does not accept practices that compromise the reliability or integrity of scholarly research and publication, including plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabrication or falsification of data, inappropriate authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, manipulation of experimental results or images, selective reporting of research findings, and other forms of research or publication misconduct.

In pharmaceutical research, concerns may also involve unreliable drug efficacy or safety data, manipulated laboratory results, inappropriate handling of clinical trial data, undisclosed commercial interests, or failure to comply with applicable research ethics requirements.

Concerns relating to potential misconduct may be raised by authors, reviewers, editors, readers, institutions, or other relevant parties through the journal's official contact channels. The editorial team will assess such concerns based on the available information and may request clarification, supporting documentation, or additional information where necessary.

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the matter, editorial action may include manuscript rejection, correction, Expression of Concern, or retraction. Where appropriate and supported by the available evidence, the journal may communicate relevant concerns to an author's institution, funding body, research ethics committee, or other appropriate party. Any restrictions on future submissions will be considered on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with the circumstances of the matter.

Specific procedures for plagiarism, corrections, retractions, authorship, and related matters are addressed in the journal's respective policies.

Research Ethics

Research involving human participants, animals, biological samples, personal data, clinical trials, or other ethically sensitive materials must comply with applicable ethical, legal, institutional, and professional requirements.

Where applicable, authors are responsible for obtaining appropriate approval from a relevant Institutional Review Board (IRB), ethics committee, animal ethics committee, or other authorized body before conducting the research.

For clinical trials and studies involving human participants, authors should provide relevant ethics approval details, informed consent information, and clinical trial registration details where required by applicable standards.

Where informed consent is required, authors should obtain appropriate consent and provide relevant information in the manuscript. Authors must also take appropriate measures to protect the privacy, confidentiality, and rights of research participants, particularly when reporting patient information, clinical records, photographs, or identifiable data.

Research involving pharmaceutical products, experimental drugs, biological materials, or animal models must be conducted and reported in accordance with applicable safety, ethical, and regulatory requirements.

Editors' Responsibilities

Editors are expected to:

Reviewers' Responsibilities

Reviewers are expected to:

Detailed information about the journal's peer-review procedure is provided in the Peer Review Process policy.

Artificial Intelligence

AI tools and large language models may be used in accordance with the journal's Generative AI Policy. AI systems cannot be listed as authors or co-authors because they cannot take responsibility for the research or publication.

Specific requirements concerning the use and disclosure of AI-assisted content are provided in the journal's Generative AI Policy.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors should disclose financial, professional, personal, or institutional relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their work or editorial judgment. Relevant relationships may include pharmaceutical industry funding, consultancy arrangements, employment, patents, licensing agreements, stock ownership, clinical trial sponsorship, and other commercial interests.

Further requirements are provided in the Conflict of Interest Policy.

Editorial Independence

The International Journal of Pharma Studies aims to maintain editorial independence throughout manuscript evaluation and publication. Editorial decisions are based on the academic quality, originality, relevance, integrity, methodological soundness, and ethical acceptability of the work.

Maintaining the Scholarly Record

The International Journal of Pharma Studies is committed to maintaining an accurate and reliable published record. When significant errors, ethical concerns, unreliable research findings, or other publication issues are identified after publication, the journal may take appropriate editorial action, including issuing a Correction, Expression of Concern, or Retraction, as applicable.

Further information is provided in the Corrections and Retractions policy.

Related Policies

This statement should be read together with the relevant policies of the International Journal of Pharma Studies, including:

The journal may review and update its publication ethics policies as relevant standards and best practices in scholarly publishing and pharmaceutical research develop.

This statement is informed by relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), where applicable.