IRX 211 OPIOID ALTERNATIVE, page-66

The tobacco industry is a US$760 billion a year colossus in the early stages of a transformation.



A smoke free world is on the horizon and getting closer by the day.

Ironically, it’s Big Tobacco who have recast themselves as the heroes leading the talk of this smoke-free future.

It's Time To Make Smoking History (youtube.com)

When Big Tobacco show the outward appearance of self-sabotaging their US$760 billion a year empire, the writing is on the wall for traditional cigarettes.

Constrictive and ever-growing governmental regulations are rapidly shrinking the places where smokers can light up.

Now, the UK government has gone a step further with a policy banning cigarette sales to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009. They won’t be the last either.

Alongside this, slogans and buzzwords such as “harm reduction” and “next generation products” are being put out by Big Tobacco in an attempt to cleanse them of their bad boy image.

Next generation products are dominated by heated tobacco products (profit margin 81%) and vapes (profit margin 42%); both are still very much a form of smoking and, while touted as less harmful than traditional cigarettes, are far from harmless.
Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products: Imperial Brands - TobaccoTactics



Nevertheless, these new products are only the minority of Big Tobacco revenues.



Either the remaining 68% who still smoke regular cigarettes switch to heated tobacco or vaping, or Big Tobacco revenues will more than halve within the next 10-15 years.

Alternatively, Big Tobacco needs new revenue generating products to make up for this massive shortfall – products that fit their new good boy image, too.

According to the chairman of Philip Morris International: “PMI remains committed to accelerating the end of smoking and laying the foundations of a strong business in areas of wellness and healthcare as we strive to develop commercially successful products that have a net positive impact on society.”
pmi-integrated-report-2022.pdf

In the last 10 years Big Tobacco have shown a healthy appetite for cannabis companies to increase its portfolio of recreational addictive drugs – flower, drinks and edibles.

In recent times, we are witnessing a pronounced shift to medical based solutions.​

For examples, Philip Morris International (PMI) invested in an inhaler device for cannabis (Syqe), inhaler products to deliver asthma and COPD medications (Vectura), and respiratory inhalers (OtiTopic).

PMI’s acquisition of Vector, however, was heavily criticized (including by the WHO) because it provides a solution to a respiratory problem Big Tobacco help create.

The question is whether PMI and Big Tobacco will go one step further and invest in medical solutions into problems they didn’t create.
Tobacco industry’s ‘wellness’ tactic: Ethical dilemma and solutions - PMC (nih.gov)

Tobacco Company Investments in Pharmaceutical & NRT Products - TobaccoTactics
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PMI’s acquisition of OtiTopic suggests this is a road PMI are looking at.

OtiTopic’s lead asset, Asprihale, is a rapid onset aspirin formulation delivered through a self-administered aerosol. Clinical data has shown peak plasma concentration in two minutes; a significant improvement over the 20 minutes with traditional aspirin.

When OtiTopic and PMI file a New Drug Application for Asprihale, they will use the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's 505 (b)(2) pathway.

Jorge Insuasty, chief life sciences officer at PMI, said “the inhalable version of ASA provides a faster effect for heart attack patients and that OtiTopic has developed a promising product that will benefit millions of patients.”

Philip Morris Bolsters 'Beyond Nicotine' Strategy with OtiTopic Acquisition | BioSpace

The similarities between smoking and cannabis have always been there. However, cannabis offers something nicotine never could; the health and wellness angle when it’s consumed in safe ways such as inhalation or oral consumption.

Medical cannabis not only opens up opportunities for Big Tobacco to diversify and grow their revenue sources, but also adds more legitimacy to Big Tobacco’s new found “allies of health” public image.

These opportunities are amplified for cannabis derived wellness products that are backed up by rigorous scientific data born out of clinical trials.

IRX 211, rapid onset pain relief, may have attractive takeover potential for Big Tobacco to cash in on a new revenue stream while simultaneously enhancing its new found hero status.

The stars may finally be aligning for the medical cannabis industry, and possibly for IRX, too.

Imho & Gltah

Why Cannabis Is Part Of The Future Of Big Tobacco (forbes.com)


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