Last October, Martin McPhillie, a lecturer in organic chemistry at the UK’s University of Leeds, received an email alert from his institution about a new article bearing his name – "Docking Study of Licensed Non-Viral Drugs to Obtain Ebola Virus Inhibitors," appeared in the Journal of Biochemical Technolog. The study was within McPhillie’s area of expertise, and aligned with work he and the other listed coauthors had previously published. But he knew the new study wasn’t his.
McPhillie emailed the journal’s editor in chief, Marcello Iriti, and explained the situation. McPhillie was initially "relieved" Iriti responded, but then the journal removed the article from its website with an undated notice that stated only "This article has been retracted."
"To my mind, ‘retracted’ usually means that the authors have committed malpractice," McPhillie said. When McPhillie contacted Iriti again, the editor was "rather dismissive" and said "there was nothing more they could do".
More: https://retractionwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/j-biochem-tech-cover.jpg
