PMI patently trying

Philip Morris International has been ranked 63rd on the European Patent Office’s (EPO) list of the top 100 patent applications for 2016.

In a note published on its website, PMI said that the list, which was published yesterday as part of the EPO’s Annual Report, did not include any other tobacco companies.

‘PMI is committed to a smoke-free future, where non-combustible alternatives replace cigarettes to the benefit of smokers, public health and society at large,’ the note said.

‘PMI’s patent portfolio includes over 1,800 patents granted and almost 4,000 pending applications published for intellectual property generated during the development of our smoke-free products. They include a wide range of innovations, such as technologies to precisely heat tobacco instead of burning it, new ways to heat liquids in e-cigarettes and manufacturing processes.’

Michele Cattoni, PMI’s vice president of technology and operations for smoke-free products was quoted as saying that developments in technology and science were key to PMI’s commitment to provide all adult smokers with a range of better alternatives to cigarettes. “Our scientists are inventing new ways to deliver a satisfying experience to smokers without burning tobacco,” he said. “Our patents are tangible evidence of our progress towards a smoke-free future, where cigarettes will be replaced by non-combustible products.”

PMI said that, since 2008, it had hired more than 400 scientists and experts and invested more than US$3 billion in research, product development and scientific substantiation for smoke-free products. It openly shared its scientific methodologies and findings for independent third-party review and verification, which was available on PMIScience.com. All research to date on its most advanced smoke-free product, IQOS, clearly indicated that it was likely to present less risk of harm than continued smoking. Over 1.4 million smokers had already fully switched to it.