22nd Century Group Comments on Grossly Misleading “Short and Distort” Article
October 26 2018 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE American: XXII), a plant
biotechnology company that is a leader in tobacco harm reduction
and Very Low Nicotine tobacco, today commented on a highly
deceptive article published yesterday by a self-professed short
seller of the Company’s stock who launched his smear campaign in an
effort to dupe shareholders into selling their shares of 22nd
Century Group stock.
After disparaging 22nd Century with misleading suppositions
about an alleged Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
enforcement proceeding against the Company, using innuendo in an
attempt to diminish the strength of the positive press that 22nd
Century has received, and attempting to link 22nd Century to stock
promoters who have absolutely nothing to do with the Company, the
author then disclosed that he is “short” the Company’s stock. This
means that the short seller author stands to realize significant
profit in the event that the share price of 22nd Century common
stock declines.
“By publishing such a grossly misleading ‘hit piece,’ the
unscrupulous short seller attempts to create a self-fulfilling
prophecy – of a declining share price of a target company,”
explained Henry Sicignano III, President and Chief Executive
Officer of 22nd Century Group. “Though the author of the ‘short and
distort’ article on 22nd Century failed to disclose his own name,
the Company plans to notify the SEC of the article, of all persons
associated with it, and of their intent to deceive 22nd Century’s
shareholders.”
Although the Company does not normally respond to “hit pieces,”
or to “short and distort” articles, 22nd Century’s management
believes the degree of grossly misleading information contained in
the subject article warranted a Company response. 22nd Century
desires to make the following facts clear:
- 22nd Century has not received any
notice of, and the Company has no knowledge of, any enforcement
proceeding against 22nd Century by the SEC or any other
regulator.
- The “hit piece” in question contains a
partial photocopy of an SEC response letter which denied a
FOIA request by “Steve McGough.” In order to cast 22nd Century in
the worst possible light, the “hit piece” intentionally
OMITTED the following sentence from the SEC response letter:
"Please be aware that my decision to affirm the FOIA Officer's
assertion of Exemption 7(A) should not be construed as an indication by the
Commission or its staff that any violations of law have occurred
with respect to any person, entity, or security." (emphasis
added)
- Though the “short and distort” article
suggests that complimentary articles about 22nd Century have been
the result of Company promotions, the Company’s website and a
cursory Google search will show that there have been numerous
independent scientific publications that accurately praise 22nd
Century’s proprietary technology. 22nd Century has reported
publicly that the Company has delivered more than 24 million
SPECTRUM® research cigarettes to agencies of the federal government
for studies that have been conducted at the Mayo Clinic, the MD
Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, the Johns
Hopkins University, Duke University, the University of Minnesota,
the University of Vermont, the University of Pittsburgh, the
University of California – San Francisco, and many others. Further,
the World Health Organization (WHO) Study Group on Tobacco Product
Regulation has recommended “a policy of limiting the sale of
cigarettes to brands with a nicotine content that is not sufficient
to lead to the development and/or maintenance of addiction.” The
WHO report states: “No specific amount of nicotine has yet been
identified as the absolute threshold for addiction; however, it is
likely to be equal to or possibly less than 0.4 mg/g of dry
cigarette tobacco filler.” 22nd Century is the only company in the
world capable of producing combustible tobacco cigarettes at this
very low level of nicotine – without any artificial extraction or
chemical processes.
- In July 2017 the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) announced a new policy to require that all
cigarettes sold in the U.S. contain only minimally or non-addictive
levels of nicotine. The FDA’s Advanced Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (ANPRM) specifically mentions 22nd Century, by name, in
reference to the Company’s proprietary Very Low Nicotine tobacco
and the Company’s continued provision of Very Low Nicotine
cigarettes for use in independent scientific research funded by
agencies of the U.S. federal government.
- On October 11, 2018, Dr. Lynn Hull,
Lead Pharmacologist at the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, held
a public webcast highlighting and summarizing the published science
supporting the FDA’s efforts to dramatically reduce nicotine in all
cigarettes sold in the United States. Entitled “Science to Inform a
Tobacco Product Standard for the Level of Nicotine in Combusted
Cigarettes,” Dr. Hull’s presentation featured prominently many
independent clinical trials conducted with 22nd Century’s Very Low
Nicotine content SPECTRUM® research cigarettes.
- 22nd Century remains on schedule to
file its highly-anticipated Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP)
application with the FDA before the end of this December for the
Company’s Very Low Nicotine content “BRAND A” product (the actual
product name cannot be used until approved by the FDA). The Company
believes that 22nd Century’s Very Low Nicotine cigarettes could be
the first – and quite possibly the only – combustible cigarettes to
win an FDA marketing order under the MRTP program.
Mr. Sicignano concluded, “22nd Century’s proprietary
technology portfolio, financial resources, regulatory prospects,
and commercial opportunities have never been stronger. We are
supremely confident in our bright future… which is precisely why we
believe that ‘short and distort’ articles are so insidious. By
persuading unsophisticated shareholders that something is amiss,
unscrupulous short sellers are essentially stealing from ordinary
investors. We hope that the SEC will punish such wrongful
behavior. In the meantime, we have a business to run and a mission
to execute. We will not respond to any further short seller
articles. We trust that anyone interested in 22nd Century will
reference the large volume of public information – from credible,
independent sources – that is available on 22nd Century. We are
confident that investors who conduct their own due diligence will
indeed conclude that 22nd Century is a truly remarkable company…
well on its way to disrupting the entire tobacco industry.”
About 22nd Century Group, Inc.
22nd Century is a plant biotechnology company focused on
technology which allows it to increase or decrease the level of
nicotine in tobacco plants and the level of cannabinoids in
hemp/cannabis plants through genetic engineering and plant
breeding. The Company’s primary mission in tobacco is to reduce the
harm caused by smoking. The Company’s primary mission in
hemp/cannabis is to develop proprietary hemp/cannabis strains for
important new medicines and agricultural crops. Visit
www.xxiicentury.com for more information.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press
release contains forward-looking information, including all
statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the
intent, belief or current expectations of 22nd Century Group, Inc.,
its directors or its officers with respect to the contents of this
press release, including but not limited to our future revenue
expectations. The words “may,” “would,” “will,” “expect,”
“estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend” and similar
expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee future results,
levels of activity or performance. You should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as
of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should
be considered with any written or oral forward-looking statements
that we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable
law, including the securities laws of the United States, we do not
intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform
these statements to reflect actual results, later events or
circumstances, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events. You should carefully review and consider the various
disclosures made by us in our annual report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, filed on March 7, 2018,
including the section entitled “Risk Factors,” and our other
reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
which attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors
that may affect our business, financial condition, results of
operation and cash flows. If one or more of these risks or
uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those
expected or projected.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181026005127/en/
22nd Century GroupJames Vail, Director of
Communications716-270-1523jvail@xxiicentury.com
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