Q: Is there any software that can help me write a review paper in pharmacy?

There are software that can assist with proofreading of text, but software that can compose an article remain at experimental stages, and their use might not be considered ethical (at present, at least). This is because authorship provides accountable person(s) who should be answerable for the published reports of their research. According to the ICMJE, an author is defined as one who fulfils all four of the criteria below:

• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work;
• Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
• Final approval of the version to be published; and
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

An option would be for you to opt for writing assistance from an editor, who edits articles for spelling, grammatical errors, clarity, and style. Some medical journals encourage the use of medical writers in manuscript publication. Medical writers collate data from large multi-center studies and write the results for license applications to regulatory authorities, and they may also be employed to write publications based on these results. Several reputed companies offer medical writing assistance including Editage (in Japan). However, do keep in mind that the use of medical writers beyond publications associated with the results of clinical trials, e.g., review articles and opinion pieces, has been questioned. Therefore, use your discretion when you opt for medical writing services.

Anyway, for now, here are a couple of options for supporting the preparation of your review article:

• You could write the review article in a language you are comfortable in, have it translated to English by a professional translator, and finally have it edited and proofread professionally.
• You could write the review article in English and have it edited by a professional language editing service.

Finally, and most importantly, it is a good practice to acknowledge any writing assistance received in the Acknowledgments section under “participated in writing or technical editing of the manuscript.”

All the best for your paper!