Altria partners with Japan Tobacco to bolster smoke-free category

JAPAN TOBACCO

27/10/2022 13:15

Oct 27 (Reuters) - Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc
 MO.N  on Thursday announced a strategic partnership with Japan
Tobacco  2914.T  in an attempt to boost its smoke-free category.
   
    Altria and JT will jointly establish Horizon Innovations
LLC, which would be responsible for U.S. marketing and
commercialization of heated tobacco stick (HTS) products owned
and developed by either company. 
    Altria said the joint venture would be through its
subsidiary Philip Morris USA that will hold a 75% economic
interest in Horizon and Japan Tobacco International, a
subsidiary of JT, holding the rest. Altria added it would make
an initial $150 million in capital contribution to Horizon.
    The companies expect to jointly prepare U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) filings for the latest version of Ploom HTS
products that are not currently commercialized and submit
pre-market tobacco product applications in the first half of
2025.
    The announcement comes just days after Altria's U.S. rights
to sell IQOS returned to peer Philip Morris International Inc
 PM.N , which was spun off from Altria in 2008 when the group
wanted to separate its U.S. and overseas businesses. 
    Philip Morris agreed to pay $2.7 billion for the exclusive
right to sell IQOS heated tobacco products in the United States.
    Late September, Altria exercised the option to be released
from its non-compete deal with Juul Labs Inc, almost four years
after buying a 35% stake in the company.
    The FDA, in early July, put on hold its ban on sales of
Juul's e-cigarettes in the U.S., after the health agency for a
brief period banned its products as data submitted by the
company failed to show its products would be appropriate for
public health.
 (Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by
Krishna Chandra Eluri)
 ((AnanyaMariam.Rajesh@thomsonreuters.com ; Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnanyaMariam;))