The Journal mandates that authors disclose any financial or other conflict of interest that may affect the study's outcome at the time of manuscript submission, including any employment, consulting, ownership, or testimony. If no role is stated, sponsors must be excluded. Conflict-of-interest information will be communicated in a published statement. Please visit the COPE guidelines on Conflict of Interest/Competing Interests for more details.
Also visit ICMJE's policy on competing interests.