22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE American:XXII), a plant biotechnology company that is focused on tobacco harm reduction, stated today that the Company welcomes the announcement by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that the Agency is exercising its authority under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act to mandate lower nicotine – at non-addictive levels – in combustible cigarettes sold in the United States. 22nd Century is already capable of achieving the FDA’s ambitious new product standard. As previously reported, 22nd Century is the only company in the world capable of growing tobacco with non-addictive levels of nicotine. The Company’s proprietary Very Low Nicotine tobacco is grown on independently-owned farms in the United States – without any artificial extraction or chemical processes. 22nd Century uses its proprietary and patent-protected Very Low Nicotine tobacco to produce the world’s lowest nicotine tobacco cigarettes. 22nd Century’s Very Low Nicotine cigarettes contain less than 0.6 mg nicotine per cigarette and less than 0.05 mg nicotine yield per cigarette. In each case, this represents a reduction of at least 95% less nicotine relative to “Big Tobacco” cigarette brands
22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE American: XXII), a plant biotechnology company that is focused on tobacco harm reduction, is pleased to announce that the 2013 Research License and Commercial Option Agreement between the Company and British American Tobacco (Investments) Limited (“BAT”) is now finished. BAT no longer has rights to any intellectual property or other assets of 22nd Century; 22nd Century is now again in sole control of the Company’s highly disruptive intellectual property portfolio relating to the ability to grow patent-protected Very Low Nicotine tobacco plants. Accordingly, the Company has recommenced discussions with global tobacco companies and international pharmaceutical companies that have expressed strong interest in a business relationship with 22nd Century but were, until now, unable to enter into a licensing agreement with 22nd Century due to restrictive covenants contained in the BAT agreement.
22nd Century Now Free of Restrictive License Agreement with British American Tobacco
22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE MKT:XXII), a plant biotechnology company, announced today that the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, NASCO Products, recently entered into substantial new manufacturing agreements for the production of filtered cigars and other tobacco products. The products to be manufactured by 22nd Century as a result of these executed new contracts are currently supplied to more than 250 distributors and wholesalers and more than 40,000 retail stores across the United States. In order to accommodate this sizeable increase in business, 22nd Century has already hired 37 new employees, more than doubling its workforce at the Company’s NASCO factory in Mocksville, North Carolina. When combined with existing business, 22nd Century is raising its 2017 total revenue projection from a previously announced $12,000,000 to more than $16,000,000. In 2018, 22nd Century anticipates total revenues will significantly exceed $20,000,000 and the Company’s factory will be cash flow positive.
22nd Century Raises 2017 Revenue Projection to $16Million – Another Record Year