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22nd Century Group Announces South Korea as First VLN® International Market
First revenue from shipment to in-market partner expected by end of March 2022 BUFFALO, N.Y., Feb. 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 22nd Century Group, Inc.
About this update from 22nd Century Group, Inc
[{"type":"text","content":"First revenue from shipment to in-market partner expected by end of March 2022\nBUFFALO, N.Y., Feb. 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 22nd Century Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: XXII), a leading agricultural biotechnology company focused on tobacco harm reduction, reduced nicotine tobacco, and improving health and wellness through modern plant science, today announced the $1.6 billion1 South Korean tobacco market will be the first international market to commence sales of its VLN® reduced nicotine content cigarettes. “South Korea is an ideal international launch market in many ways, with a high smoking rate among developed countries and a government strongly committed to smoking harm reduction. We expect the first sale of VLN® reduced nicotine content cigarettes to our South Korean partner to occur by the end of March,” said James A. Mish, Chief Executive Officer. “Approximately one in three adult men in South Korea2 are smokers, and an estimated 6% of adult women smoke. The government has worked over the past two decades to promote smoking cessation through a variety of means, including heightened tobacco prices, and remains committed to advancing alternative products to help curb smoking activity in the country. We are excited to make VLN® reduced nicotine content products available in South Korea to help break the nicotine addiction cycle and support this important effort.” The Company will continue its launch process in additional markets in Asia and Europe with limited regulatory barriers while also leveraging VLN®’s MRTP authorization toward seeking approval in additional markets with higher regulatory barriers. In addition to its first international launch of VLN® reduced nicotine content cigarettes in the more than $800 billion global tobacco market, 22nd Century Group is actively moving forward to launch VLN® in the $80 billion U.S. tobacco market. The U.S. FDA authorized 22nd Century’s VLN® reduced nicotine content cigarette products on December 23, 2021. The Company is currently executing its 90-day post-authorization plan to launch in its first U.S. pilot market. In its MRTP authorization press release for 22nd Century’s VLN® King and VLN® Menthol King cigarettes, the FDA stated, “We know that three out of four adult smokers want to quit and the data on these products show they can help addicted adult smokers transition away from h...