IQOS Cigarette Alternative Gets Mixed Reception From FDA Panel
January 25 2018 - 1:46PM
Dow Jones News
By Betsy McKay and Saabira Chaudhuri
A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee offered a
mixed assessment Thursday of Philip Morris International Inc.'s
request to market its new IQOS tobacco-heating device in the U.S.
as less harmful than cigarettes.
The panel of scientific experts voted overwhelmingly against
Philip Morris's proposed claim that switching completely to IQOS
can reduce the risk of tobacco-related diseases. It also voted
against the claim that IQOS presents less risk of harm than
continuing to smoke cigarettes. However, the committee voted in
favor of a claim that IQOS significantly reduces the body's
exposure to harmful chemicals.
The committee will continue to vote on more questions until the
meeting concludes, expected around 3 p.m. Eastern.
Philip Morris shares were down 2.7% following those early votes.
Shares of Altria Group Inc. -- Philip Morris's U.S. partner, which
plans to market IQOS in the U.S. -- dropped 2.1%.
Morgan Stanley analyst Matthew Grainger described the initial
share responses as "unwarranted" saying the meetings "have
progressed as expected and show balance in assessing the data."
The committee's ultimate findings will go to the FDA, which must
decide whether to allow Altria to market IQOS in the U.S. and to
make a claim that the product is safer than smoking conventional
cigarettes. The FDA doesn't have to follow the findings of its
advisers but frequently does.
Write to Betsy McKay at betsy.mckay@wsj.com and Saabira
Chaudhuri at saabira.chaudhuri@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 25, 2018 14:31 ET (19:31 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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