RE: XXII from streamingeagle88 - admin - 08-28-2014
Company response:
22nd Century Group, Inc.7 minutes ago
CLARENCE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE MKT:XXII) noted there was unusual trading volume today in its common stock. The activity appears to be related to an inaccurate article published today by a short seller of the Company’s stock recommending that stockholders sell 22nd Century Group stock.
The author disclosed on the front page that he is “short” the Company’s stock, meaning that the short seller author stands to realize significant profit in the event that the share price of 22nd Century declines.
Although 22nd Century does not normally respond to false information written about the Company, 22nd Century Group management believes the degree of false information contained in the subject article warranted a Company response.
22nd Century strongly disagrees with the article’s incorrect assumptions and false conclusions. Although the misleading and inaccurate statements are too numerous to address, the following are a few examples:
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“They have quadrupled the stock's share count to roughly 59 million.” In fact, 22nd Century Group went public in January 2011 with approximately 27 million shares. Currently the Company has approximately 59 million shares outstanding, not the 108 million alleged by the author. |
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The author asserts that 22nd Century is in default of a license agreement with a major university. This is patently false. Further, just today, 22nd Century signed a new license agreement with the same university that the author falsely alleges that the Company is in default with. |
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Contrary to the author’s assertions regarding stock promotion and sales, officers and insiders have never engaged in stock promotion and have made minimal sales of 22nd Century Group common stock; in fact, management and insiders retain more than 95% of their Company common stock. Collectively, officers of the Company directly and beneficially own approximately 28% of the total outstanding shares. |
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Contrary to the author’s assertions, 22nd Century has never abandoned any of its products. The Company is continuing its efforts to develop X-22, a cigarette intended for use as a prescription smoking cessation aid, and has an active investigational new drug application with the FDA. Various independent clinical studies continue to validate the efficacy of the Company’s products for harm reduction and smoking cessation.
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Henry Sicignano III, the Company’s President, explained, “22nd Century’s commercial prospects have never been stronger. MSA authorization is imminent. Hundreds of tobacco retailers have expressed interest in carrying the Company’s super-premium RED SUN® brand. The Company is launching MAGIC ZERO at the Dortmund (Germany) International Tobacco Fair in September. And, as previously announced, the Company is exploring important joint venture opportunities in Asia.”
“The 22nd Century management team operates our Company with the absolute highest integrity,” said Joseph Pandolfino, Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “I have devoted the last 15 years of my life and essentially my entire net worth to 22nd Century. The issue I had with the SEC 23 years ago, when I was a kid in college, has given me the highest sense of awareness for securities laws and regulations. I would hope that the SEC investigates the author of the disparaging article on 22nd Century and other ‘short and distort’ authors. It is unfortunate that malicious articles by short sellers dupe and scare investors into selling.”
For additional information, please visit: www.xxiicentury.com
RE: XXII from streamingeagle88 - Movieguy - 08-28-2014
That was a relief. I hope the XXII management's side is true. Thanks for posting, Admin.
RE: XXII from streamingeagle88 - admin - 08-28-2014
'Movieguy' pid='48966' datel Wrote:That was a relief. I hope the XXII management's side is true. Thanks for posting, Admin.
I've seen too many short attacks that have done serious and even lasting damage, and the short article raises some important issues, some of which I highlighted earlier today here. The IP seems guaranteed with a new license contract signed today, that's one, rather big issue out of the way, it seems, but there is some stuff remaining that could dampen enthusiasm quite a bit like the trial failure of X-22 and Vector's Quest cigarette failure, based on the same patents. I, at least, wasn't aware of that. Could be that there are perfectly good reasons, and that there's not all that much to worry about, but I'm not aware of these either. Treat with some caution. Of course, it's also possible that the article was published because news is pending. Difficult to tell at this point. Sorry I can't be more helpful, but I've seen worse short articles, to be honest.
RE: XXII from streamingeagle88 - admin - 08-29-2014
And indeed there was news:
22nd Century Group Partner NASCO Products Enters into Agreement with Smoker Friendly International
CLARENCE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- 22nd Century Group, Inc. (XXII) (NYSE MKT:XXII) announced today that NASCO Products, LLC, a federally licensed tobacco product manufacturer and participating member of the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), entered into a multi-year manufacturing agreement with Smoker Friendly International to produce the Smoker Friendly private label cigarette brand.
Smoker Friendly International, LLC licenses retailers to use its Smoker Friendly name and sell its SF products. Currently, Smoker Friendly has approximately 800 stores throughout the United States under license. These stores are independently owned and operated. The SF brand has been on the market for over 20 years and is the private label brand in Smoker Friendly stores. Starting in January 2015, the SF brand of cigarettes will be made by NASCO Products in the Mocksville, North Carolina factory, which 22nd Century Group purchased earlier in 2014.
Barry Saintsing, Plant Manager and former Master Product Developer at RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, stated The factory is in tip-top shape and ready to begin work on the important Smoker Friendly contract. In fact, after a few months of refurbishing and optimizing the machinery mainly by ex-RJR mechanics and operators the factory commenced producing and selling various brands of commercial filtered cigars in June 2014. Mr. Saintsing added, In addition to the products the factory is already manufacturing, we are in discussions with a half dozen other parties to contract manufacture additional brands, including some brands for export.
As previously reported by the Company, upon all the settling states of the MSA executing NASCO Products amended Adherence Agreement to the MSA, 22nd Centurys acquisition of NASCO will immediately become effective, and 22nd Centurys super-premium brands will be produced by NASCO Products. At which time, NASCO Products will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of 22nd Century Group. 22nd Centurys management expects this to occur imminently.
In anticipation of MSA authorization, last week 22nd Century made a presentation at the Smoker Friendly Tobacco Festival and Conference in Boulder Colorado to announce the new Smoker Friendly manufacturing agreement and to introduce RED SUN® to Smoker Friendly retailers. Henry Sicignano III, 22nd Century Groups President reported, Smoker Friendly retailers were delighted with our RED SUN brand. Embracing the extraordinary tasting cigarette that smokers describe as The Best Cigarette Ever Made, retailers believe RED SUN will strike a chord with well-heeled smokers who seek a super-premium brand that, in fact, is a relevant and differentiated brand to consumers, as compared to the best-selling commercial brands. Mr. Sicignano added, Based on the feedback we received at the conference, we expect hundreds of Smoker Friendly stores to carry RED SUN upon the brand becoming an MSA brand.
For additional information, please visit: www.xxiicentury.com
About 22nd Century Group, Inc.
22nd Century is a plant biotechnology company whose proprietary technology allows for the levels of nicotine and other nicotinic alkaloids (e.g., nornicotine, anatabine and anabasine) in the tobacco plant to be decreased or increased through genetic engineering and plant breeding. 22nd Century owns or is the exclusive licensee of 129 issued patents in 78 countries plus an additional 44 pending patent applications. Goodrich Tobacco Company, LLC and Hercules Pharmaceuticals, LLC are wholly-owned subsidiaries of 22nd Century. Goodrich Tobacco is focused on commercial tobacco products and potential less harmful cigarettes. Hercules Pharmaceuticals is focused on X-22, a prescription smoking cessation aid in development.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking information, including all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of 22nd Century Group, Inc., its directors or its officers with respect to the contents of this press release. The words may, would, will, expect, estimate, anticipate, believe, intend and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity or performance. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should be considered with any written or oral forward-looking statements that we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to reflect actual results, later events or circumstances, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, filed on January 30, 2014, including the section entitled Risk Factors, and our other reports filed with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission which attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those expected or projected.
Redington, Inc.
Tom Redington, 203-222-7399
Source: 22nd Century Group, Inc.
Copyright Business Wire 2014
RE: XXII from streamingeagle88 - admin - 09-03-2014
No wonder the stock price recovered strongly:
CLARENCE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE MKT:XXII) announced today that the Company has become a member of the U.S. tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) through the acquisition of NASCO Products, LLC, a federally licensed tobacco product manufacturer and participating member of the MSA since 2005.
22nd Century Group, NASCO Products, and the Settling States of the MSA have executed an Amended Adherence Agreement under which 22nd Century Group and its subsidiaries have agreed to comply with the MSA and other requirements regarding the Company’s manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products.
The MSA is an agreement among 46 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, 5 U.S. territories (Settling States) and certain participating tobacco product manufacturers, which became effective in November 1998 and is administered by the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). In brief, participating manufacturers of the MSA have agreed to various restrictions on tobacco product marketing and to contribute funds in perpetuity to the Settling States based on unit sales of cigarettes.
In exchange for these settlement payments and marketing restrictions, the Settling States agreed to release and discharge certain past, present and future legal claims against the participating manufacturers of the MSA such as claims that relate to the use of or exposure to tobacco products manufactured in the ordinary course of business, including without limitation any future claims for reimbursement of health care costs allegedly associated with the use of or exposure to tobacco products.
Now that 22nd Century’s super-premium priced brands, RED SUN® and MAGIC®, are MSA brands, the Company will ramp up production of its products within the next 30 days and will launch sales and distribution efforts across the United States. Since the introduction of 22nd Century’s brands in early 2011, sales have been intentionally curtailed by the Company in order to limit the complexity and costs associated with becoming a signatory of the MSA.
Joseph Pandolfino, Founder and CEO of 22nd Century Group, stated, “We are very pleased to have been approved by the Settling States as a participating manufacturer of the MSA so that we can now sell our brands under the MSA, which will assist in producing sustainable revenue for the Company. Management greatly appreciates our shareholders’ patience during this lengthy, but now concluded process.”
The MSA and other state laws and regulations have made it extremely burdensome for non-participating manufacturers (to the MSA) to operate. Further, there has not been a new participating manufacturer approved under the MSA since 2007. Approximately 97% of cigarette unit sales in the U.S. are subject to the MSA. The Settling States have been paid more than $90 billion in MSA payments since the inception of the settlement agreement in 1998. 22nd Century will pay approximately $17,000 this week to the MSA in a settlement payment for sales of its commercial brands before 22nd Century became an MSA signatory.
For additional information, please visit: www.xxiicentury.com
About 22nd Century Group, Inc.
22nd Century is a plant biotechnology company whose proprietary technology allows for the levels of nicotine and other nicotinic alkaloids (e.g., nornicotine, anatabine and anabasine) in the tobacco plant to be decreased or increased through genetic engineering and plant breeding. 22nd Century owns or is the exclusive licensee of 129 issued patents in 78 countries plus an additional 44 pending patent applications. Goodrich Tobacco Company, LLC and Hercules Pharmaceuticals, LLC are wholly-owned subsidiaries of 22nd Century. Goodrich Tobacco is focused on commercial tobacco products and potential less harmful cigarettes. Hercules Pharmaceuticals is focused on X-22, a prescription smoking cessation aid in development.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking information, including all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of 22nd Century Group, Inc., its directors or its officers with respect to the contents of this press release. The words “may,” “would,” “will,” “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend” and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity or performance. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should be considered with any written or oral forward-looking statements that we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to reflect actual results, later events or circumstances, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, filed on January 30, 2014, including the section entitled “Risk Factors,” and our other reports filed with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission which attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those expected or projected.
RE: XXII from streamingeagle88 - Movieguy - 09-03-2014
Hmmm . . . If one were even more skeptical, it is easy to believe that the article was planted when it was to allow folks to buy in at a very low price prior to this announcement.
RE: XXII from streamingeagle88 - admin - 09-03-2014
'Movieguy' pid='49125' datel Wrote:Hmmm . . . If one were even more skeptical, it is easy to believe that the article was planted when it was to allow folks to buy in at a very low price prior to this announcement.
Certainly possible, even probable
RE: XXII from streamingeagle88 - admin - 09-15-2014
September 12, 2014 8:07 AM ET
* Cigarette-shaped Voke Inhaler wins licence from MHRA
* Licensing amendment needed before likely 2015 launch
* No heat or visible vapour, in contrast to e-cigarettes
* BAT unit working with Kind Consumer, Consort Medical (Adds analyst comments, more on product, backers)
By Ben Hirschler
LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - A new nicotine inhaler to be sold by British American Tobacco has been licensed in the UK as a medicinal product, marking the arrival of a novel alternative to the fast-growing market for electronic cigarettes.
The cigarette-shaped Voke Inhaler represents a further move by one of the world's biggest tobacco companies to defend its turf in a rapidly changing market. Since it involves no heat, electronics or battery it is not classified as an e-cigarette.
As a medicinal product delivering a precise dose of nicotine, it could be prescribed by doctors for patients trying to quit smoking. Industry analysts expect it to be launched in the first half of next year.
The uptake of e-cigarettes, which use battery-powered cartridges to produce a nicotine-laced vapour, has rocketed in the past two years and the market is estimated to be worth $3.5 billion a year - but there is fierce debate about the risks.
BAT, the world's second-biggest cigarette maker with brands such as Dunhill and Lucky Strike, already sells a conventional e-cigarette called Vype, which was promoted in the first British TV adverts by a tobacco company in more than two decades.
The new Voke product was developed for BAT by Kind Consumer, a private company whose backers include former Tesco boss Terry Leahy, one-timeSainsbury chairman Peter Davis and venture capitalist Jon Moulton.
While Voke has a licence from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (), the authority must approve a modified licence to allow full-scale commercialisation by BAT's nicotine substitute division Nicoventures, the companies said on Friday.
Kevin Bridgman, chief medical officer at Nicoventures, said the additional licence was needed for automated manufacture and the further regulatory step was likely to take some months. Only after that will the product be ready for launch in Britain.
Eddy Hargreaves, an analyst at broker Canaccord Genuity, said the development of Voke showed how "Big Tobacco" was pursuing multiple nicotine alternatives, although he saw the new inhaler as smaller seller than e-cigarettes.
However, as the only e-cigarette-type device on the market with regulatory backing, Nicholas Keher of Investec said it could be "a game-changer".
LOOKING TO OTHER MARKETS
Voke contains a breath-activated micro-valve that does away with the need for electronics or heat and is licensed for use to relieve nicotine craving in smokers who wish to quit the habit.
It consists of a cigarette-sized stick in a box the size of a pack of 20 cigarettes, which also contains a pressurised canister containing 20 refills of pharmaceutical grade nicotine.
Shares in BAT's partner Consort Medical, which has a manufacturing contract for the product and whose Bespak unit has experience in making asthma inhalers, rose more than 9 percent on news of the MHRA green light.
For BAT, whose shares were up 0.6 percent by 1200 GMT, the development of Voke is part of a strategy to hedge its bets as its core tobacco business declines in Western markets, where many consumers are quitting smoking.
Bridgman said Voke would suit many people who want to quit smoking but are still wary about e-cigarettes.
"The fact that it has been licensed by the medicines regulator provides the assurances around quality and safety that many smokers are seeking," he told Reuters.
"I'm fairly confident that most e-cigarettes contain fewer toxins than conventional cigarettes, but the trouble is that without standards and without someone overseeing things then consumers can't be sure."
BAT is also looking at rolling out the Voke Inhaler in other markets, although Bridgman declined to go into details.
The device is seen as a competitor to both e-cigarettes and nicotine-replacement therapies, such as gum and patches, as well as Johnson & Johnson's existing Nicorette Inhalator, which is not designed as an imitation cigarette.
The potential risks from e-cigarettes were highlighted by the World Health Organization last month, which called for stiff regulation as well as bans on their indoor use, advertising and sales to minors.
It is unclear how widely BAT's new product will be accepted by consumers, since it offers a different experience to e-cigarettes. Unlike an e-cigarette, the Voke does not produce a visible vapour when inhaled, although it does reproduce other elements of smoking, including a typical "throat catch".
Bridgman declined to say how much the new product would cost, citing commercial considerations ahead of its launch, but said it would be "competitive" with regular cigarettes. (Additional reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Greg Mahlich and David Clarke)
RE: XXII from streamingeagle88 - admin - 09-17-2014
Smoking in the U.S. has been declining for decades, but retailers specializing in tobacco sales are booming. The number of tobacco shops in America doubled between 1998 and 2012, to more than 9,000, according to Census data.
That growth coincided with rising cigarette taxes, indoor smoking bans, and other policies aimed at snuffing out the habit. The share of Americans who smoke fell to 19 percent in 2011, from 23.5 percent in 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Why are tobacconists thriving when the market for their products is shrinking?
Interviews with industry experts and smoking researchers don’t lead to a single, clear answer. Some say higher cigarette prices have created a niche for retailers specializing in discount brands. Others point to the rise in electronic cigarettes. There are 3,500 “vape shops” in the U.S. specializing in e-cigarette wares,Bloomberg Businessweek’s Karen Klein reported last year. Many of those stores operate out of kiosks, leading the government to exclude them from the tobacco store category, Census spokesman Robert Bernstein says.
The new stores may be catering to committed smokers who have continued lighting up despite public health efforts to get people to quit, says Lisa Henriksen, a senior research scientist at the Stanford School of Medicine’s Prevention Research Center. “It’s the hardening hypothesis,” she says. “These stores may have fewer customers, but the ones they have may be buying in large volumes.”
Tobacco shops are largely off the radar of antismoking advocates and researchers, who are generally more interested in cigarette sales at convenience stores, supermarkets, and pharmacies. Those three categories of retailers accounted for 80 percent of tobacco sellers in 2012, according to a recent study funded by the State and Community Tobacco Control Research Initiative. Standalone tobacco stores, on the other hand, made up just 4 percent of sellers.
The growth, meanwhile, has been uneven. There are 6.3 tobacco stores for every 100,000 people in Arkansas, among the highest, and 1.4 per 100,000 people in Georgia, among the lowest. The number of stores specializing in expensive cigars and other high-end products has declined over the past decade, according to Glynn Loope, executive director of Cigar Rights of America, which lobbies for premium cigar shops.
That means fewer stores like Milan Tobacconists, a 102-year-old shop in Loope’s hometown of Roanoke, Va., and more like Tobacco Superstore, an 86-outlet chain that calls itself the largest tobacco retailer in the South. The chain, which was founded in 1993, according to its website, sells a variety of tobaccoproducts and paraphernalia (cigarettes, pipe tobacco, “moist snuff&rdquo , as well as candy and lottery tickets. It offers monthly promotions on such products as Swisher Sweets cigars and melon-flavored liquid for electronic cigarettes.
The discounters are probably taking advantage of two trends. Convenience stores dedicate more space to well-known brands, says Andrew Hyland, chair of the department of health behavior at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y. The name brands are more profitable for retailers. Rising cigarette prices, meanwhile, have created “opportunities for niche retailers to make a profit selling lower-margin products,” Hyland says.
Many discounters also sell e-cigarettes and other products that convenience stores are unlikely to carry in wide variety. Hookahs—communal water pipes often used to smoke flavored tobacco—are another likely factor in the growth of tobacco stores, says Loope. If you don’t believe him, ask a teenager: Eighteen percent of high school seniors had smoked a hookah in the last 12 months, according to a recent survey published in the journal Pediatrics.
The decision by pharmacy chain CVS (CVS) to quit selling cigarettes may also be a sign that hard-core smokers are increasingly a narrow market targeted by specialty stores, rather than another shelf behind the counter at mass-market retailers. “It could be displacement,” says Stanford’s Henriksen, “as more stores see the wisdom of giving up cigarette sales.”
RE: XXII from streamingeagle88 - marsexplorer - 09-19-2014
This is from XXII website: September 18, 2014 - 8:10 AM EDT Print Email Article Font Down Font Up Charts BIOGY N/A N/A Today 5d 1m 3m 1y 5y 10y XXII 2.89 0.32 Today 5d 1m 3m 1y 5y 10y 22nd Century Group Enters Cannabis Space 22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE MKT:XXII) announced today that the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Botanical Genetics, LLC, has entered into a worldwide license agreement with Anandia Laboratories Inc. (Anandia), a plant biotechnology company based in Vancouver, granting 22nd Century Group exclusive rights in the U.S. to four genes required for cannabinoid production in the cannabis plant. The proprietary technology licensed from Anandia allows the modification of cannabinoid levels in cannabis providing 22nd Century Group an exclusive competitive advantage in the burgeoning area of cannabis biotechnology. In brief, the proprietary technology allows for the (i) increase in the production and content of all or certain subsets of cannabinoids in the cannabis plant, (ii) elimination of cannabinoids in hemp varieties, and (iii) modification of the cannabinoid profile (percentage content of each cannabinoid to the total content of all cannabinoids) for the production of unique cannabis plant varieties for the medical marijuana industry. The license also grants 22nd Century Group co-exclusive rights with Anandia to this proprietary technology in all countries outside of the U.S. and Canada. Anandia retains exclusive rights in Canada. The technology includes 23 patent applications filed between August 2010 and June 2014, one of which recently received a Notice of Allowance by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Jonathan Page, PhD, co-founder, president and chief scientific officer of Anandia is an inventor on all of the patents licensed to 22nd Century Group. Dr. Page, one of the lead investigators in the first cannabis genome project, assisted in the sequencing of some 30,000 genes that make up the genome of Cannabis sativa. Cannabinoids are a class of diverse naturally-occurring compounds that act on the cannabinoid receptors on human cells. The most notable cannabinoid is the phytocannabinoid ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound of cannabis. There are dozens of other cannabinoids in the cannabis plant, including cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabichromene (CBC), cannabinol (CBN) and tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), all of which may have medical applications independently or in combination with other cannabinoids. Joseph Pandolfino, Founder and CEO of 22nd Century Group, stated, “The main reason 22nd Century was attracted to Anandia’ s proprietary technology is that it gives us a level of exclusivity in the cannabinoid biosynthetic pathway in cannabis similar to what we have achieved in the nicotinic biosynthetic pathway in tobacco – exclusive freedom to operate in the entire pathway.” Dr. Page explained, “22nd Century’s track record in developing complex patent portfolios in the plant biotechnology area is impressive. For an early stage company such as Anandia, 22nd Century Group is an ideal licensing partner.” Hemp, a type of cannabis, has been refined into products such as hemp seed for food, hemp oil, wax, resin, rope, cloth, pulp, paper, plastics and biofuels – most of these for centuries. The fact that commercial hemp varieties, which are the same species as marijuana (Cannabis sativa), contain very low levels of THC, has greatly limited the production of hemp during the modern era in the western world, including the U.S. Over centuries, recreational marijuana was bred for elevated THC levels, but hemp was bred for yield and other characteristics. Hemp was one of man’s first agricultural crops, and remained one of the planet's largest crops and most important industrial crops until late in the nineteenth century when many paper and fiber products were produced from hemp. Up until that time, the very low THC levels in hemp were not considered a problem by governments, unlike today. For example, Canada and the European Union only permit cultivation of hemp varieties that contain less than 0.3% THC, which greatly increases the risk to farmers of growing hemp. Hemp based products have various advantages over their counterparts such as strength and durability which are important for recycling. Hemp has the longest fiber out of any of the natural fibers. According to Hemp.com, various car makers are beginning to use hemp bi-products in their cars, including Audi, BMW, Ford, GM, Chrysler, Honda, Mercedes, Porsche and Volkswagen. Michael R. Moynihan, PhD, Vice President of Research and Development of 22nd Century, explains, “The elimination of cannabinoids in hemp is expected to revitalize the hemp industry worldwide.” In addition to the license agreement, as part of the transaction, 22nd Century Group acquired a 25% stake in Anandia. 22nd Century Group invested approximately $1,500,000 in cash and restricted stock in this transaction. This investment in Anandia reflects 22nd Century’s strategic interest in cannabis, which will be further expanded through collaborative R&D funding of Anandia’s Vancouver-based facilities. As reported earlier today by the Company, Crede CG III, Ltd invested $10 million in a 22nd Century Group private placement. For additional information, please visit: www.xxiicentury.com About 22nd Century Group, Inc. 22nd Century is a plant biotechnology company whose proprietary technology through genetic engineering and plant breeding allows (i) the level of nicotine (and other nicotinic alkaloids) in the tobacco plant to be decreased or increased and (ii) the levels of cannabinoids to be decreased or increased in addition to the cannabinoid profile being tailored. 22nd Century owns or is the exclusive licensee of 129 issued patents in 78 countries plus an additional 51 pending patent applications, and 22nd Century has co-exclusive rights to another 16 patent applications. Goodrich Tobacco is focused on commercial tobacco products and potential less harmful cigarettes. Botanical Genetics is focused on natural, safe and effective cannabis-based products for human health, well-being and nutrition, in addition to industrial products refined from cannabis. Hercules Pharmaceuticals is focused on X-22, a prescription smoking cessation aid in development. About Anandia Laboratories Inc. Anandia Laboratories Inc. is a plant biotechnology company focused on developing the next generation of cannabis-based products through a combination of genomics, plant breeding and pharmaceutical science. Anandia aims to build a strong scientific foundation for the therapeutic use of cannabis while staying true to its status as a natural medicine. Anandia will develop and apply new analytical technologies to support the cannabis industry in Canada; create designer cannabis strains; and develop non-smoked cannabis formulations. Anandia aims to be a global leader in creating transformational health and consumer products derived from cannabis. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking information, including all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of 22nd Century Group, Inc., its directors or its officers with respect to the contents of this press release. The words “may,” “would,” “will,” “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend” and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity or performance. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should be considered with any written or oral forward-looking statements that we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to reflect actual results, later events or circumstances, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, filed on January 30, 2014, including the section entitled “Risk Factors,” and our other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission which attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those expected or projected. Copyright Business Wire 2014 Source: Business Wire (September 18, 2014 - 8:10 AM EDT) News by QuoteMedia www.quotemedia.com
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