Publication Ethics

Pharmacological Horizons is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, research integrity, and academic excellence. The journal follows internationally recognized ethical guidelines and best practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and other leading scholarly publishing organizations.

The journal expects authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members to adhere to the highest standards of ethical conduct throughout the publication process.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to Pharmacological Horizons must ensure that:

• The submitted work is original and has not been published previously.
• The manuscript is not under consideration by another journal simultaneously.
• All sources of information, data, figures, and tables are properly cited and acknowledged.
• Authorship accurately reflects individual contributions to the research.
• All conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are disclosed.
• Research involving human participants or animals has received appropriate ethical approval.
• Data presented in the manuscript are accurate and have not been fabricated, falsified, or manipulated.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for:

• Evaluating manuscripts solely on scientific merit, originality, significance, and relevance to the journal.
• Maintaining confidentiality throughout the editorial and peer-review process.
• Ensuring fair, unbiased, and timely editorial decisions.
• Addressing ethical concerns and allegations of misconduct appropriately.
• Protecting the integrity of the scholarly record.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play a critical role in maintaining publication quality and are expected to:

• Provide objective, constructive, and timely reviews.
• Maintain strict confidentiality regarding manuscript content.
• Declare any potential conflicts of interest.
• Identify relevant published work not cited by the authors.
• Report concerns regarding plagiarism, duplicate publication, or research misconduct.

Research Involving Human Participants and Animals

Studies involving human participants must comply with recognized ethical standards and include appropriate informed consent and ethical approval statements.

Research involving animals must be conducted in accordance with institutional, national, and international guidelines for animal welfare and ethical treatment.

Plagiarism Policy

All manuscripts submitted to Pharmacological Horizons are screened using plagiarism detection software before peer review.

The journal maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy toward:

• Plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Duplicate publication
• Data fabrication
• Data falsification
• Image manipulation
• Citation manipulation

Manuscripts found to violate these standards may be rejected immediately or withdrawn from consideration.

Corrections and Retractions

When necessary, the journal may publish corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions to maintain the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.

Publication Misconduct

Allegations of research misconduct, ethical violations, plagiarism, authorship disputes, or other unethical practices will be investigated in accordance with COPE guidelines. Appropriate actions may include manuscript rejection, publication correction, retraction, or notification of relevant institutions.

Commitment to Research Integrity

Pharmacological Horizons is dedicated to promoting responsible research practices, transparency, scientific rigor, and ethical publishing. The journal remains committed to ensuring that all published content meets the highest standards of scholarly integrity and scientific excellence.

Publication Ethics

The journal follows the ethical principles established by:

Committee on Publication Ethics
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors
World Association of Medical Editors

All concerns regarding plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, image manipulation, or unethical research practices must be reported to the Editorial Office immediately.