Conflict-of-Interest Statement

We follow the rules approved by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). (Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals).

"Public trust in the peer review process and the credibility of published articles depend in part on how well conflict of interest is handled during writing, peer review, and editorial decision making. Conflict of interest exists when an author (or the author's institution), reviewer, or editor has financial or personal relationships that inappropriately influence (bias) their actions (such relationships are also known as dual commitments, competing interests, or competing loyalties). These relationships vary from those with negligible potential to those with great potential to influence judgment, and not all relationships represent true conflicts of interest. The potential for conflict of interest can exist whether or not an individual believes that the relationship affects their scientific judgment. Financial relationships (such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, and paid expert testimony) are the most easily identifiable conflicts of interest and the most likely to undermine the credibility of the journal, the authors, and of science itself. However, conflicts can occur for other reasons, such as personal relationships, academic competition, and intellectual passion."

Biotechnologia Acta requires all authors to disclose any financial conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. Authors must declare any such conflict in the cover letter accompanying the manuscript and in the Acknowledgments section of the manuscript itself. The corresponding author will be asked to sign a form on behalf of all the authors regarding potential conflicts of interest at the time of acceptance. This policy applies to all submitted research manuscripts and review material.

Authors are required during submission of their manuscripts to complete the online Licence Agreement, to disclose any conflict of interest, and to acknowledge all funding sources supporting the work. The corresponding author must ensure that all authors have been asked to disclose any conflicts of interest. It is important that upon submission the manuscripts to “Biotechnologia Acta” the Authors must point out either “We have no conflict of interest to declare” or “We have a competing interest to declare (and put the matter)” depending on situation. “Biotechnologia Acta” will not publish the articles without completion and return of this statement.

It is important that you are transparent about any interests that might impact how readers assess your work. For these reasons “Biotechnologia Acta” require that the authors declare any such interests in their cover letter and in the Acknowledgments section of the manuscript, both for research manuscripts and review material. The corresponding author is required to disclose any actual or perceived conflicts of interest on the part of any author when submitting a manuscript. Both authors and readers should understand that a declared conflict of interest is a neutral term that does not imply any unethical behavior; but instead serves to inform all parties about relationships that could affect scientific judgment. Potential conflicts of interest include affiliations, financial relationships, personal relationships, or funding sources that could be perceived as influencing an author’s objectivity regarding the manuscript content. Conflict of interest disclosures will be published in a footnote accompanying the article.

If there are no conflicts of interest, insert the following statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest with the contents of this article.

When asked to evaluate a manuscript, reviewers and editors must disclose any association that poses a conflict of interest in connection with the manuscript. Recent collaborators, defined as people who have coauthored a paper or were a principal investigator on a grant with any of the authors within the past 48 months, must be excluded as editors and reviewers. Referees and editors are asked to recuse themselves from handling a paper if the conflict makes them unable to make an impartial scientific judgment or evaluation. A referee or editor who has a conflict but believes that it does not preclude his or her making a proper judgment must disclose to the journal the nature of the conflict.

Divulging a potential conflict usually does not invalidate the research or the comments of a referee or editor; it simply provides the reader information necessary to independently assess the work. A conflict of interest includes a financial association or relationship that could influence the objectivity, integrity, or interpretation of a publication. Such conflicts of interest include relationships with corporations whose products or services are related to the subject matter of the article. These relations include employment, substantive ownership of stock or mutual funds,1 membership on a standing advisory council or committee, service on the board of directors, or public association with the company or its products. Other areas of conflict of interest could include receiving consulting fees, patent filings, serving as a paid spokesperson, or providing services in exchange for honoraria. Other examples of possible conflicts include past or present association as thesis advisor or thesis student, or a family relationship, such as a spouse, domestic partner, or parent–child relationship.

When a conflict of interest is disclosed either by the author or editor, a footnote describing the conflict will be included with the published article.

"Biotechnologia Acta" reserves the right to publish an erratum disclosing conflict(s) of interest related to a previously published paper. Authors, referees, or editors who have deliberately or recklessly failed to disclose conflicts of interest may receive sanctions, including being banned from publishing in "Biotechnologia Acta" for a period of time.