Pharmacophore an International Research Journal
Pharmacophore is committed to transparency and to safeguarding the integrity of its editorial and publication process. All authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to disclose any competing interests that could reasonably be seen to influence the preparation, review, or publication of a manuscript.
Having a competing interest does not automatically disqualify a manuscript from publication. What matters is disclosure: once interests are made known, editors, reviewers, and readers can evaluate the work with a clear and informed view.
What counts as a competing interest
Competing interests may be financial or non-financial in nature, and include — though are not limited to:
Employment, consultancy, advisory roles, honoraria, salaries, grants, or other financial support from organizations that may benefit from or be affected by the published work.
Ownership of stocks, shares, or other financial investments related to the subject of the manuscript.
Ownership of, or pending applications for, patents, copyrights, or other intellectual property connected to the reported research.
Institutional affiliations, leadership positions, or memberships in organizations or advocacy groups whose interests intersect with the manuscript's subject matter.
Personal, academic, political, religious, or ideological relationships and beliefs that could reasonably be seen as shaping the research or its interpretation.
Financial or non-financial relationships with commercial entities — including pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, or other companies sponsoring clinical trials, laboratory studies, field studies, or related research. Authors are expected to describe the nature of any such relationship clearly and in full.
Disclosure at the time of submission
Every author bears responsibility for declaring all relevant competing interests when a manuscript is submitted. The corresponding author, in turn, is responsible for ensuring that these disclosures are complete and faithfully reflect the circumstances of every co-author.
Editors and reviewers are held to this same standard: they, too, must declare any competing interest capable of compromising their impartiality. Where a significant conflict exists, the individual is recused from handling or reviewing the manuscript in question, and an alternative editor or reviewer is appointed in their place — preserving the fairness and independence of the evaluation.
How disclosures appear in the published article
When competing interests are disclosed, they appear in the published article under a dedicated Competing Interests section. Where no such interests exist, the article instead carries the following statement:
"The authors declare that they have no competing interests."
Consequences of non-disclosure
Failure to disclose a relevant competing interest may result in editorial action — up to and including rejection of the manuscript, publication of a correction, or retraction after publication where circumstances warrant — consistent with the journal's broader publishing ethics policies.
