Murillo joins Juul

Juul Labs has hired tobacco industry veteran Joe Murillo as its chief regulatory officer. Previously, Murillo was head of regulatory affairs at Altria Group, which owns a 35 percent stake in Juul Labs.

Murillo formerly led Altria’s Nu Mark vapor product subsidiary and developed the company’s regulatory strategies for IQOS, which recently launched in the United States.

In his new role, Murillo will help guide the applications that Juul Labs must submit by May to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for any products it wants to keep on the market after that time.

Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog applauded the appointment. “We believe Murillo’s addition to Juul’s team, along with K.C. Crosthwaite as Juul’s new CEO, underscores Altria’s confidence in Juul and commitment to help reposition Juul as a ‘responsible actor’ in the eyes of the FDA/government,” she wrote.

The moves follow a regulatory backlash against the growth of teen vaping in the United States. Last week, Juul Labs announced it would suspend all advertising in the country.