Author Guidelines

1. Purpose of These Guidelines

The Clinical Journal of Pharmacology and Therapeutics provides these instructions to help authors prepare manuscripts for editorial consideration and publication.

Authors should ensure that submissions are scientifically appropriate, clearly presented, ethically conducted, and complete in all required components. Requirements may vary according to the article category; authors should therefore select the appropriate manuscript format before submission.

The journal encourages authors to follow recognized reporting standards relevant to their study design and to provide sufficient methodological detail for readers to understand and assess the work. The ICMJE recommends that original research generally follow an Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion structure, while other article types may require different formats.

2. Journal Scope and Manuscript Types

The journal considers scholarly contributions relating to pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, therapeutics, medicines, drug development, pharmacotherapy, medication safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and related clinical and biomedical areas.

The following manuscript categories may be considered:

Original Research Articles
Review Articles
Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
Case Reports
Clinical Images
Short Communications
Editorials
Commentaries
Special Issue Articles
Other scholarly contributions considered appropriate by the Editorial Office

The required structure and length may differ between article categories.

3. Conditions for Submission

Submission of a manuscript indicates that the authors have reviewed these guidelines and agree to comply with the journal’s editorial and publication procedures.

Authors should confirm that:

The manuscript represents original work.
The manuscript is not under simultaneous consideration elsewhere.
All listed authors have approved the submitted version.
The corresponding author is authorized to communicate with the journal on behalf of the author group.
Appropriate ethical permissions have been obtained where required.
Relevant financial support and competing interests have been disclosed.
Necessary permissions have been obtained for third-party material.
The manuscript does not contain material that has been improperly copied or reproduced from another source.

Where a manuscript is based substantially on previously reported work, the authors should disclose the related publication or submission to the Editorial Office.

ICMJE recommends that the submission letter or journal submission form disclose related publications, conflicts of interest, authorship information, and permissions for previously published or identifiable material.

4. Manuscript File and Language

Manuscripts should be prepared in English and submitted as an editable document, preferably in Microsoft Word format.

Where applicable, the main submission file should contain:

Title
Author information
Abstract
Keywords
Main manuscript
Declarations
References
Tables
Figure legends

Figures and supplementary material may be supplied as separate files when appropriate.

Authors should check the final document carefully before submission to ensure that names, affiliations, references, tables, figures, and other publication details are accurate.

5. Article Organization

The structure should reflect the nature of the work.

For original research, the following sequence is generally appropriate:

Title
Author information
Abstract
Keywords
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Author contributions
Funding statement
Competing interests
Data availability
Ethical approval and consent, where applicable
References
Tables
Figure legends
Figures
Supplementary material

Case reports, reviews, editorials, clinical images, and other article categories may follow a different structure.

6. Document Presentation

For initial submission, authors should use the following basic formatting:

Page size: 8.5 × 11 inches
Margins: 1 inch on all sides
Font: Times New Roman
Main text: 10-point
Line spacing: Single
Alignment: Justified
Headers and footers: Not required
Unnecessary blank lines: Avoid
Paragraphs: Consistently formatted throughout

Authors should maintain consistent spelling, terminology, punctuation, abbreviations, units, and capitalization.

7. Title and Article Identification

The title should communicate the principal subject of the manuscript accurately and concisely.

Authors should avoid exaggerated claims, unnecessary abbreviations, and promotional expressions.

The title should:

Use appropriate title capitalization.
Not end with a full stop.
Avoid first-person expressions such as “I” or “We.”
Use recognized scientific terminology.
Italicize appropriate Latin expressions such as in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo.

A short running title may be supplied where requested by the submission system.

8. Author and Institutional Information

All authors should be identified by their names and institutional affiliations.

Where authors have different affiliations, superscript numbers should be used to associate each author with the appropriate institution.

Affiliations should provide sufficient information to identify the department or unit, institution, city, postal or ZIP code, and country.

Academic degrees and professional titles should be included only where requested by the journal.

The corresponding author should be clearly identified and should provide a current institutional email address and complete contact information.

The ICMJE encourages journals to collect full author contact information and supports the use of ORCID identifiers for author identification.

9. Abstract

The abstract should provide a concise representation of the manuscript.

For most article categories, the abstract should not exceed 250 words, unless a different limit has been specified for the relevant article type.

Depending on the manuscript category, an abstract may be structured or unstructured.

Authors should ensure that the abstract:

Accurately reflects the manuscript.
States the principal objective or purpose.
Describes the essential methods where applicable.
Presents the principal findings.
Communicates the main conclusion.
Avoids unnecessary abbreviations.
Does not contain citations or references.
Does not include information that is absent from the main manuscript.

10. Keywords

Authors should provide relevant keywords following the abstract.

Keywords should be:

Directly related to the manuscript.
Specific enough to identify the subject.
Presented consistently.
Separated by semicolons.

Established scientific terminology should be preferred where appropriate.

11. Abbreviations and Symbols

Abbreviations should be introduced only when their use improves readability.

The complete term should normally appear at its first occurrence, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses.

The abbreviation may then be used consistently throughout the manuscript.

Authors should avoid introducing abbreviations that appear only a few times.

Standard scientific symbols and terminology should be used consistently.

12. Introduction

The Introduction should establish the context of the work and explain why the study, review, or clinical report is relevant.

It should:

Introduce the scientific or clinical problem.
Summarize pertinent previous evidence.
Identify the knowledge gap or rationale.
State the objective, research question, or purpose.

References should be selected for their direct relevance rather than used to provide an unnecessarily extensive historical overview.

13. Methods and Study Procedures

The Methods section should describe how the work was conducted with sufficient clarity for appropriate assessment.

Where applicable, authors should report:

Study design
Study setting
Participants or experimental materials
Eligibility criteria
Interventions or exposures
Outcome measures
Data collection procedures
Statistical methods
Software used for analysis
Ethical approval
Informed consent
Trial registration
Data sources

The Methods section should distinguish procedures planned before the study from analyses or observations that arose during the research.

For research involving human participants, the relevant ethics review information should be provided.

ICMJE recommends that methods be described with enough detail to permit evaluation and, where appropriate, replication of the work.

14. Results and Findings

Results should be presented in a logical sequence.

Authors should report findings directly relevant to the study objectives and avoid unnecessary repetition.

Information presented in tables or figures should not be extensively duplicated in the narrative text.

Statistical results should be reported accurately and accompanied by appropriate measures of uncertainty or effect where applicable.

15. Discussion and Interpretation

The Discussion should interpret the principal findings rather than simply repeat the Results.

Authors should consider:

Relationship to previous evidence
Clinical or scientific implications
Strengths of the work
Important limitations
Alternative interpretations
Areas requiring further investigation

Conclusions should remain consistent with the evidence presented.

16. Conclusion

The conclusion should provide a concise statement of the principal implications of the work.

Authors should avoid unsupported recommendations or claims that extend beyond the study findings.

17. Reporting Standards

Authors should use an appropriate reporting guideline when one exists for their study design.

Examples include reporting frameworks for:

Randomized controlled trials
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
Observational studies
Diagnostic studies
Case reports
Qualitative research

Where the journal requests a completed reporting checklist, authors should submit the relevant checklist together with the manuscript.

18. Tables

Tables should be used when they improve the presentation or interpretation of information.

Each table should:

Have a descriptive title.
Be numbered consecutively.
Be cited in the manuscript.
Contain clearly labeled columns and rows.
Define abbreviations and symbols.
Include explanatory footnotes where necessary.

Tables should be editable rather than supplied only as images.

Authors should avoid duplicating information already presented in the main text.

19. Figures and Images

Figures should be numbered in the order in which they are first cited.

Authors should ensure that submitted figures are clear, legible, and suitable for publication.

Recommended formats include:

TIFF for high-quality images
JPEG for photographic material

Approximately 300 dpi is recommended for publication-quality images.

Figures should not contain unnecessary decorative elements or misleading visual manipulation.

Where images contain identifiable individuals, the authors must comply with applicable consent and privacy requirements.

20. Figure Legends

Every figure should be accompanied by a clear legend.

The legend should explain:

What the figure demonstrates
Relevant symbols or markers
Abbreviations
Experimental groups where applicable
Statistical notation where applicable

A reader should be able to understand the essential purpose of the figure without relying entirely on the main text.

21. Units, Measurements, and Scientific Notation

Authors should use recognized scientific units and standard notation.

Measurements should be presented consistently throughout the manuscript.

Numerical values, percentages, concentrations, doses, and statistical values should be checked carefully before submission.

Scientific names should be italicized where appropriate.

22. References and Citation Style

The journal uses a Vancouver-style numbered reference system.

References should be cited in numerical order according to their first appearance.

The reference list should:

Correspond exactly with citations in the manuscript.
Contain no duplicate references.
Include complete bibliographic information.
Use recognized journal abbreviations where applicable.
Present article titles in sentence case.
Be checked against the original publication.
Exclude references that are not cited.

Authors should verify references carefully, including publication details and article status. ICMJE recommends checking references against authoritative bibliographic sources and being alert to retracted publications.

Journal Article

Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347(4):284-7.

Book

Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Kobayashi GS, Pfaller MA. Medical microbiology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2002.

Book Chapter

Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, editors. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. p. 93-113.

Conference Proceedings

Harnden P, Joffe JK, Jones WG, editors. Germ cell tumours V. Proceedings of the 5th Germ Cell Tumour Conference; 2001 Sep 13-15; Leeds, UK. New York: Springer; 2002.

23. Research Ethics

Research involving human participants, animals, patient records, biological materials, or other regulated research activities should comply with applicable ethical requirements.

Where applicable, authors should provide:

Name of the ethics committee or institutional review board
Approval or reference number
Date or relevant approval information
Informed-consent statement
Trial registration information

The journal may request supporting documentation during editorial assessment.

24. Informed Consent and Patient Privacy

Authors must protect the privacy of research participants and patients.

Identifying information should not be included unless scientifically necessary and appropriately authorized.

For recognizable clinical photographs, case descriptions, or other potentially identifiable information, written consent for publication should be obtained where required.

Authors should retain consent documentation and provide evidence to the journal when requested.

25. Clinical Trial Registration

Clinical trials should be registered in an appropriate publicly accessible registry when registration is required by applicable standards.

The manuscript should include the registry name and registration number.

ICMJE’s current recommendations include specific guidance concerning clinical trial registration and data sharing.

26. Data Availability

Authors should provide a statement describing the availability of data supporting the reported findings where applicable.

The statement may indicate that:

Data are available in a public repository.
Data are available from the corresponding author subject to reasonable conditions.
Data cannot be publicly shared because of privacy, ethical, legal, or other restrictions.

Where data have been deposited in a repository, authors should provide the relevant persistent identifier.

27. Authorship and Contributor Roles

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the work and who accept responsibility for the published content.

All authors should:

Approve the final manuscript.
Participate appropriately in the work.
Agree to the submitted version.
Accept responsibility for the integrity of the work.

Contributors who do not meet authorship requirements may be recognized in the Acknowledgments section with their permission.

The ICMJE emphasizes that authorship carries both credit and responsibility and that authors should be accountable for what is published.

28. Funding and Financial Support

All sources of financial or material support should be disclosed.

The statement should identify:

Funding organizations
Grant or award numbers, where applicable
Material or equipment support
Other relevant financial assistance

If no specific funding was received, authors should provide an appropriate declaration.

29. Competing Interests

Authors should disclose relationships or circumstances that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the work.

These may include:

Employment
Consultancy
Research funding
Honoraria
Personal financial interests
Intellectual property
Institutional relationships
Other relevant professional or financial interests

Where no competing interests exist, authors should state this clearly.

30. Acknowledgments

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not qualify for authorship may be acknowledged with their permission.

Authors should not include individuals in the Acknowledgments section without their knowledge.

Where appropriate, authors should obtain written permission from acknowledged individuals, since acknowledgment may be interpreted as an endorsement of the work.

31. Use of Artificial Intelligence

Authors who use artificial intelligence or AI-assisted technologies during manuscript preparation must disclose the use at submission.

The disclosure should identify the tool or technology used and explain its role in preparing the manuscript.

AI tools may assist with activities such as language improvement or organization, but authors remain fully responsible for:

Accuracy of the submitted material
Originality of the work
Appropriate citation
Protection of confidential information
Verification of references
Compliance with ethical requirements

AI systems should not be listed as authors or co-authors.

Authors should carefully review AI-assisted material because such systems can produce inaccurate, incomplete, biased, or improperly attributed content.

AI-generated material should not be used as a substitute for appropriate scholarly sources. ICMJE’s January 2026 recommendations specifically require disclosure of AI-assisted technologies used in manuscript production and place responsibility for the resulting content on human authors.

32. Permissions and Third-Party Content

Authors are responsible for obtaining appropriate permission to reproduce or adapt copyrighted material when permission is required.

This may include:

Figures
Tables
Photographs
Substantial text
Illustrations
Previously published datasets
Other protected material

Permission documentation should be retained and supplied to the Editorial Office when requested.

33. Originality and Previous Publication

A manuscript should not contain substantial unpublished material that is simultaneously submitted elsewhere.

Authors should disclose:

Previous publications based on the same study
Related manuscripts under consideration elsewhere
Conference reports
Preprints
Secondary analyses
Closely related datasets

The existence of a preprint or related publication should be disclosed according to the journal’s policy.

34. Text Similarity and Research Integrity

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the manuscript appropriately distinguishes their own work from the work of others.

Ideas, findings, words, figures, tables, and other material obtained from external sources should be properly attributed.

The journal may assess submissions for inappropriate text overlap, duplicate publication, fabricated information, manipulated material, or other concerns relating to research integrity.

Where concerns arise, the Editorial Office may request clarification or supporting documentation.

COPE identifies misconduct, authorship, conflicts of interest, intellectual property, peer review, data, and post-publication corrections among the core areas requiring clear journal policies.

35. Submission Letter

Where requested, the submission should be accompanied by a cover letter containing:

Article title
Article category
Brief description of the manuscript
Confirmation of originality
Statement regarding simultaneous submission
Conflict-of-interest information
Funding information
Authorship confirmation
Relevant ethical information
Disclosure of related publications or submissions
Disclosure of AI-assisted technologies, where applicable

Authors should also identify any information that may assist the editor in assessing the submission.

36. Editorial Assessment and Peer Review

Submitted manuscripts may undergo an initial editorial assessment before being considered for external peer review.

The assessment may consider:

Relevance to the journal
Scientific content
Methodological quality
Ethical compliance
Completeness of submission
Clarity of presentation
Suitability for the selected article category

Manuscripts considered suitable may be sent to independent reviewers with relevant subject expertise.

Peer review procedures, reviewer comments, and editorial correspondence should be treated as confidential.

COPE recommends that journals clearly describe and consistently manage their peer-review processes, including appropriate handling of conflicts and disputes.

37. Revised Manuscripts

Authors invited to revise a manuscript should submit the revised version within the period specified by the Editorial Office.

A revision should normally include:

Revised manuscript
Point-by-point response to reviewer comments
Explanation of any comments that were not followed
Updated tables and figures, where applicable
Updated supplementary files, where applicable

Authors should ensure that all changes are reflected consistently throughout the manuscript.

38. Final Proof Review

After acceptance and production, the corresponding author will receive an electronic proof.

Authors should review the proof carefully and return necessary corrections within 3 working days, unless another deadline is provided.

Proof review should focus on errors introduced during production and essential factual corrections. Extensive changes to the accepted manuscript may not be permitted at this stage.

If the corresponding author requires additional time, the Editorial Office should be contacted promptly.

39. Article Processing Charges

The journal does not charge a fee at the time of manuscript submission.

For manuscripts accepted for publication, an Article Processing Charge (APC) of USD 1800–3600 may apply.

The applicable charge supports publication-related activities such as editorial administration, peer-review coordination, production, formatting, digital processing, online hosting, and preservation of published content.

APC payment does not determine the editorial decision or peer-review outcome.

40. Waivers and Reductions

Authors who experience financial difficulty may request a partial or full reduction of the applicable APC, subject to the journal’s eligibility criteria and available provisions.

Requests should preferably be submitted before publication arrangements are finalized.

A waiver or reduction must be approved by the Editorial Office and is not automatically granted.

41. Manuscript Withdrawal

Authors may request withdrawal before peer review begins without a withdrawal charge.

After peer review has commenced, a withdrawal request may be subject to a charge of up to 50% of the applicable APC, depending on the editorial and administrative work already undertaken.

Withdrawal requests should be submitted formally by the corresponding author.

Following publication, an article will not ordinarily be withdrawn. Where serious concerns arise, the journal will consider appropriate corrective action in accordance with its post-publication policies.

42. Post-Publication Corrections

Authors should notify the Editorial Office promptly if they identify a significant error in a published article.

Depending on the nature and significance of the issue, the journal may publish:

A correction
An amendment
An editorial notice
A retraction or other appropriate post-publication action

COPE recognizes the need for journals to maintain mechanisms for correcting, revising, or retracting published material when appropriate.

43. Reprints and Article Copies

Authors may request reprints or other copies of published articles where these services are available.

Requests are generally processed after publication and may be subject to applicable production or delivery charges.

Authors should contact the Editorial Office for current arrangements.

44. Author Submission Checklist

Before submitting a manuscript, authors should confirm:

45. Editorial Contact

Questions concerning manuscript preparation, submission requirements, ethical documentation, revisions, proofs, publication charges, or other author matters should be directed to the Editorial Office through the official contact information provided on the journal website.