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Conflict Of Interest

P-ISSN: 3117-8065 | E-ISSN: 3117-8073
Conflict of Interest Policy

The ICME Journal of Laboratory Medicine is committed to transparency, editorial independence, impartial peer review, and scientific integrity in laboratory medicine and diagnostic pathology. Authors, peer reviewers, editors, and other individuals involved in the publication process must disclose financial, personal, professional, academic, commercial, or institutional relationships and activities that could reasonably influence, or be perceived to influence, laboratory research reporting, manuscript evaluation, or editorial decision-making.

This policy is based on the disclosure principles described in the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations and is informed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and the transparency principles reflected in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) criteria.

Definition & Scope of Competing Interests

A competing interest exists when a secondary interest could reasonably affect, or be perceived to affect, professional judgment concerning laboratory research, diagnostic reporting, peer review, or editorial assessment. Relevant ongoing interests should be disclosed regardless of when they began:

Research funding, grants, or honoraria from diagnostic companies
Employment, consultancy, or advisory roles with lab equipment suppliers
Personal, family, professional, or academic relationships
Recent laboratory collaborations, supervision, or coauthorship
Shares, stock options, or financial interests in biotech firms
Patents, assay licenses, or intellectual property rights
Author Duties
Disclose all funding sources, diagnostic kit sponsorships, and relevant relationships.
Complete the journal-required competing-interest declaration form at submission.
Include explicit Competing Interests and Funding statements in the manuscript.
Reviewer Disclosure & Recusal
Disclose relevant relationships or commercial interests before accepting a peer-review invitation.
Decline or withdraw from review if a competing interest could affect impartial judgment.
Protect manuscript confidentiality and never use unpublished lab data for advantage.
Editor Disclosure & Recusal
Disclose and recuse themselves from manuscripts involving relationships that affect impartiality.
Arrange independent editorial handling by an uninvolved editor when necessary.
Ensure published articles include transparent competing-interest disclosures.
Standard Competing-Interest & Funding Statements

Published articles should contain clear Competing Interests and Funding statements in an identifiable section. Appropriate examples include:

"Competing Interests Statement: The authors declare that they have no financial or non-financial relationships or activities that could reasonably be perceived to have influenced the laboratory research reported in this article."
"Funding Statement: This work was supported by [Funder/Company Name] under Grant [Number]. The funder had no role in study design, laboratory assay execution, data analysis, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit."
Editorial Management of Competing Interests

When a potential competing interest is identified before publication, ICME Journal of Laboratory Medicine manages it by:

Requesting clarification, additional disclosures, or assay funding details.
Reassigning the manuscript to independent reviewers or alternative handling editors.
Publishing an appropriate disclosure with the accepted Version of Record.
Undisclosed Competing Interests

Failure to disclose a relevant competing interest will be evaluated according to COPE guidance. Proportionate actions include:

Clarification or Additional Disclosure Manuscript Rejection Where Warranted Post-Publication Correction Expression of Concern or Retraction Institutional Notification
Policy Alignment & Periodic Review

The ICME Journal of Laboratory Medicine manages competing-interest disclosures based on ICMJE Recommendations, COPE Core Practices, and DOAJ transparency criteria. This policy is reviewed periodically to uphold publishing standards.

Policy Declaration: Authors, reviewers, and editors are responsible for providing accurate competing-interest disclosures. ICME Journal of Laboratory Medicine assesses concerns and takes proportionate action in accordance with journal policy and COPE guidance.