In what turned out not to be an April Fool’s Day joke, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, sent a letter urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use its authority to clear the market of e-cigarettes for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic and use all available tools to encourage Americans to stop smoking and vaping.
Earlier this week, FDA asked a federal court to delay by four months its order requiring e-cigarette manufacturers to submit applications to remain on the market by May 12, 2020, according to a statement from, according to a statement for the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
The Subcommittee did not oppose this request, but instead asked FDA to take the following steps for the duration of the coronavirus crisis:
(1) use all available tools to encourage Americans to stop smoking combustible cigarettes and using e-cigarettes;| (2) suspend all approvals of Premarket Tobacco Product Applications; and (3) commit to immediately clearing the market of all e-cigarettes by prioritizing enforcement against them.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a complaint to force Altria to sell its stake in Juul Labs.
The FTC complaint alleges that Altria and Juul Labs entered a series of agreements, including Altria’s acquisition of a 35 percent stake in Juul Labs, that eliminated competition in violation of federal antitrust laws.
“For several years, Altria and Juul were competitors in the market for closed-system e-cigarettes. By the end of 2018, Altria orchestrated its exit from the e-cigarette market and became Juul’s largest investor,” said Ian Conner, director of the Bureau of Competition. “Altria and Juul turned from competitors to collaborators by eliminating competition and sharing in Juul’s profits.”
A few weeks before announcing its $12.8 billion investment in Juul Labs, Altria announced that it would be taking its MarkTen e-cigarette brand off the market, a brand that had been the second most popular on the market.
Along with the monetary investment in Juul, the companies’ agreement states that Altria will not compete with Juul for six years, according to the FTC.
Altria rejected the complaint. “We believe that our investment in Juul does not harm competition and that the FTC misunderstood the facts,” said Murray Garnick, Altria’s executive vice president and general counsel. “We are disappointed with the FTC’s decision, believe we have a strong defense and will vigorously defend our investment.”
Altria’s investment in Juul Labs has now decreased to $4.2 billion after a series of write-downs following a collection of lawsuits against Juul Labs regarding youth usage.
Anti-counterfeiting technology will continue to grow, according to a recent report cited by the International Hologram Manufacturers’ Association (IHMA).
The market for holograms is expected to grow by 27 percent over the next five years. The global anti-counterfeiting packaging market is expected to reach $133.72 billion by 2026 with a compound annual growth rate of more than 10 percent from 2021 to 2026.
“Digital solutions are a clear and growing addition to authentication solutions, sometimes in isolation, but within the holographic industry it’s the combination with packaging track-and-trace systems, among other solutions, that’s seen as the foreseeable future,” said Paul Dunn, IMHA chair. “In doing so, the opportunities for holograms to be at the forefront will drive sector growth.”
Kentucky BioProcessing (KBP), a subsidiary of British American Tobacco (BAT), is developing a potential vaccine for Covid-19 and is now in pre-clinical testing. If testing goes well, BAT is hopeful that, with the right partners and support from government agencies, between 1 million and 3 million doses of the vaccine could be manufactured per week, beginning in June.
While KBP remains a commercial operation, the intention is that its work around the Covid-19 vaccine project will be carried out on a not for profit basis.
The vaccine in development uses BAT’s proprietary, fast-growing tobacco plant technology which has several advantages over conventional vaccine production technology:
It is potentially safer given that tobacco plants can’t host pathogens which cause human disease.
It is faster because the elements of the vaccine accumulate in tobacco plants much more quickly—six weeks in tobacco plants versus several months using conventional methods.
The vaccine formulation KBP is developing remains stable at room temperature, unlike conventional vaccines which often require refrigeration.
It has the potential to deliver an effective immune response in a single dose.
BAT’s U.S. subsidiary, Reynolds American Inc., acquired KBP in 2014, with the aim of using some of its unique tobacco extraction technology to aid further development of its new category non-combustible products.
In 2014, KBP made headlines as one of the few companies with an effective treatment for Ebola, having manufactured ZMapp with California-based company Mapp BioPharmaceuticals in partnership with the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
KBP recently cloned a portion of Covid-19’s genetic sequence which led to the development of a potential antigen—a substance which induces an immune response in the body and in particular, the production of antibodies. This antigen was then inserted into tobacco plants for reproduction and, once the plants were harvested, the antigen was then purified, and is now undergoing pre-clinical testing.
BAT is now exploring partnerships with government agencies to bring its vaccine to clinical studies as soon as possible. Through collaborations with government and third-party manufacturers, BAT believes that between 1 million and 3 million doses per week could be manufactured.
David O’Reilly
“We are engaged with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are seeking guidance on next steps,” said David O’Reilly, director of scientific research at BAT. “We have also engaged with the U.K.’s Department for Health and Social Care, and BARDA in the U.S., to offer our support and access to our research with the aim of trying to expedite the development of a vaccine for Covid-19.
“Vaccine development is challenging and complex work, but we believe we have made a significant break-through with our tobacco plant technology platform and stand ready to work with governments and all stakeholders to help win the war against Covid-19. We fully align with the United Nations plea, for a whole-of-society approach to combat global problems.
“KBP has been exploring alternative uses of the tobacco plant for some time. One such alternative use is the development of plant-based vaccines. We are committed to contributing to the global effort to halt the spread of Covid-19 using this technology.”
Universal Corp. has appointed J. Patrick O’Keefe as senior vice president of Universal Global Ventures effective April 1, 2020.
Universal Global Ventures is a wholly owned nontobacco subsidiary of Universal Corp. that holds FruitSmart, Universal’s recently acquired independent specialty fruit and vegetable ingredient processor serving global markets.
O’Keefe will oversee the company’s nascent plant-based ingredient platform and the company’s previously stated efforts to continue to build out a broader agri-products services platform.
“We are pleased to welcome Patrick to Universal Corporation as we expand and deepen our strong bench of executive talent in areas outside of tobacco,” said George C. Freeman III, chairman, president and CEO of Universal Corporation. “With almost three decades of food and beverage industry experience, Patrick brings skills that are directly relevant to our ongoing strategic and growth initiatives in adjacent industries.”
O’Keefe brings nearly 30 years of diverse, multilevel experience in the food ingredients industry. Prior to joining Universal, O’Keefe served as chief operating officer for Allen Flavors. From 2015 to 2018, O’Keefe served as CEO of the Americas for Dohler Group. From 2007 to 2015, he served as president of Finlay Tea Solutions U.S. and then CEO of Finlay’s Extracts & Ingredients. Earlier in his career, O’Keefe held roles of increasing responsibility at Sensient Flavors, Givaudan Flavors and International Flavors & Fragrances.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has requested a 120-day extension to the May 12 premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) deadline due to complications associated with the coronavirus.
The FDA submitted a letter to the Maryland District Court requesting that Judge Grimm, the judge who ordered the original deadline, postpone the court-ordered May 12 PMTA deadline to Sept. 9.
The FDA cited lab and research organization closures; travel restrictions creating limits on information gathering; factory closures; the reallocation of some Center for Tobacco Products employees to the U.S. Public Health Service; and FDA employees working remotely, making it difficult to review applications.
The FDA’s request follows an earlier request from Altria to extend the PMTA deadline and letters from more than 15 manufacturers requesting extensions.
As of February 2020, the FDA has received 30 PMTAs for e-cigarettes and 28 substantial equivalence applications for cigars.
Altria has sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting that the agency push back the May 12 authorization deadline by eight weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak.
In order to keep certain tobacco and nicotine products on the market, companies must submit applications to the FDA by May 12, but many companies have been disrupted due to the virus outbreak; many companies have asked employees to work from home, factories have temporarily closed and Altria’s CEO contracted the virus.
Altria has requested that the FDA seek an extension following the eight-week social distancing recommendation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Although we make this request and raise these issues given these unprecedented times, we remain committed to working with the agency on these important product submissions,” Paige Magness, Altria’s senior vice president, said in a letter. The company has asked that if an extension is not possible the FDA allow companies to submit data and product samples after the deadline if they are affected by the outbreak.
Imperial Tobacco’s factory in Petone, New Zealand, has been listed as an essential business by the government, allowing it to stay operational amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) stated that “ongoing supply of consumer goods needs to continue.”
“The suppliers to an essential business are also considered an essential business, including those who sell cigarettes. However, it can only sell to the essential business. It cannot be open to the public,” the MBIE said.
“Imperial can supply the demand safely,” an Imperial spokesperson said. “The number of factory staff has been reduced and are working to a production layout and shift format that maintains physical distance between them.”
Not everyone is happy about the facility remaining open, however. “We’re dealing with a major health crisis and it doesn’t seem to make any sense that a tobacco factory that produces cigarettes is an essential service when so many other [industries] have been required to shut down,” said Richard Edwards, a professor at the University of Otago and part of the Asthma Foundation’s scientific advisory board.
As part of its 21-day nationwide shutdown of business to curtail the spread of Covid- 19, South African Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel noted that cigarette sales would be prohibited during the shutdown. Alcohol sales will be strictly confined to bars, nightclubs, restaurants, liquor stores and taverns at set hours.
“We have to contain the spread of the virus,” said Patel. “If this virus spreads widely, it can cause very, very serious damage. So, we will implement and learn from implementing, and we can amend the regulations as we go on. We have a 21-day lockdown, it’s not a year, it’s not two years. It’s a 21-day lockdown to try to see if we can contain this.
“On the items that people can buy, obviously we wanted to keep the list as short and simple as possible so that we can do a quick turnaround at shops so that people spend the minimum amount of time there and travel as infrequently to the shops as possible, Patel added.
Today, BAT publishes its new sustainability report based on the group’s evolved strategy to deliver “A Better Tomorrow” by reducing the health impact of its business through offering a greater choice of enjoyable and less risky products to consumers.
The publication is launched alongside the group’s annual report and follows last week’s Capital Markets webcast which announced stretching new targets across the environmental, social and governance (ESG) landscape, including:
Increasing BAT consumers of non-combustible products to 50 million by 2030
Achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and accelerating existing environmental targets by 2025
Eliminating unnecessary single-use plastic and making all plastic packaging recyclable by 2025.
The group’s new sustainability agenda supports the company purpose to deliver A Better Tomorrow with a principal focus on harm reduction, underpinned by excellence across its other ESG priorities. Together, this will drive BAT’s long-term business sustainability and create shared value for consumers, society, employees and shareholders.
Since launching its first vapor products in the U.K. in 2013, BAT has made significant progress in developing, manufacturing and commercializing a range of new category products. Today, its potentially reduced-risk products are available in 48 markets globally and in 2019, the company grew its new categories business by 37 percent to £1.3 billion.
“Today we are transitioning from being a business where sustainability has always been important to one where it is front and center in all that we do,” said Jack Bowles, chief executive of British American Tobacco.
Altria has sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting that the agency push back the May 12 authorization deadline by eight weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak.
