Drug Design, Development and Therapy has retracted a 2013 paper by a group from Italy for duplication.
The retraction notice for the paper, “Drugs in development for treatment of patients with cancer-related anorexia and cachexia syndrome,” fairly bristles with indignation:
The Editor-in-Chief, Dr Pilch, of Drug Design, Development and Therapy has been alerted to unacceptable levels of duplication between a previously published paper: Macciò A, Madeddu C, Mantovani G. Current pharmacotherapy options for cancer anorexia and cachexia. Expert Opin. Pharmacotherapy 2012 13(17) 2453–2472 and one published subsequently in Drug Design, Development and Therapy: Mantovani G, Madeddu C, Macciò A. Drugs in development for treatment of patients with cancer-related anorexia and cachexia syndrome. Drug Design, Development and Therapy 2013:7 645–656.
Of course, duplication happens. But we wonder if this might have been avoidable with a little more work on the part of the folks at Dove. Then again, right on this now-retracted article’s page is a testimonial from a happy author:
“I was impressed at the rapidity of publication from submission to final acceptance.” Dr Edwin Thrower, PhD, Yale University.
“Unacceptable levels of duplication”. Does this mean there are “acceptable levels”?
So much indignation, the EiC doesn’t even mention in the body of the retraction notice that the article has been retracted…