Philip Morris International Makes Another Step towards a Smoke-Free Future Through Partnership with Physician-Founded Start-up

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) takes another step towards a smoke-free future through a strategic collaboration with Parallax, a Canadian-based start-up. The agreement focuses on advancing the development and commercialization of an effective nicotine-delivery system that leverages the most advanced technologies in pulmonary medicine.

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The co-founders of Parallax, Drs. Noe Zamel and Arthur Slutsky, are Canadian leaders in pulmonary research and medicine, with global reputations and more than 750 peer-reviewed publications between them. For years, they have been firm believers in tobacco harm reduction: the policy of providing safer alternatives to people who smoke as a complement to measures meant to encourage quitting and discourage people from starting to smoke.

Since its founding, Parallax has assembled a world-class team of experts in formulation, device design, pharmaceutical quality manufacturing, product research and consumer insights.

Prof. Manuel Peitsch, PMI’s Chief Scientific Officer, stated that, “Science and technology will be essential to a future where all men and women who smoke switch to better alternatives. Our collaboration with Parallax, founded by world-renowned experts in pulmonary research and technology, is another step forward and will give us access to innovative technologies and expertise.”

Drs. Zamel and Slutsky noted: “As physicians and co-founders of Parallax, we believe that to save lives requires technology, innovation, and a paradigm shift in the mainstreaming of the concept of harm reduction.”

Steven Ellis, Parallax’s CEO, added: “Our team couldn’t be more excited about this next step in our journey - working with the global leader in smoke-free innovation and collaborating with its scientific team in fulfilling our joint mission of replacing what we all know is the most harmful delivery system for nicotine -- the cigarette -- with innovative alternatives that clearly move smokers to a better place in the harm reduction continuum.”

Since 2008, PMI has hired over 400 scientists and experts and invested more than USD 4.5 billion to develop, substantiate and build manufacturing capacity for a wide portfolio of smoke-free products. PMI has launched IQOS, a precisely controlled heating device into which a specially designed and proprietary tobacco unit is inserted and heated to generate an aerosol, in 40 markets where over five million smokers have already stopped smoking and made the change to IQOS. PMI’s aspiration is that at least 30% of its consumers, some 40 million men and women, will switch to its smoke-free products by 2025.

To learn more about how PMI is designing a smoke-free future, please visit the new company website at www.pmi.com.

Philip Morris International: Who We Are

We are a leading international tobacco company engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the United States of America. We’re building our future on smoke-free products that are a much better consumer choice than continuing to smoke cigarettes. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities and scientific substantiation, we aim to ensure that our smoke-free products meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements. Our vision is that these products ultimately replace cigarettes to the benefit of adult smokers, society, our company and our shareholders. For more information, see our PMI and PMIScience websites.

Parallax Development Corp.: Who We Are

Parallax Development is a life sciences development company focused entirely on developing an innovative, multi-patented platform for delivering nicotine to smokers – and only smokers – in the safest ways possible. With a world-class team that brings expertise in formulation, device design, pharmaceutical manufacturing and consumer insights, Parallax is committed to harm reduction and its ability to save millions of lives that would otherwise be lost to smoking-related disease. Parallax believes that nicotine is not the problem, smoking is. In fact, nicotine can be part of the solution.

The company has its roots in the medical community. It was founded in Canada by Drs. Noe Zamel and Arthur Slutsky, internationally-known pulmonary physicians and researchers in respiratory science. For more information, see our Parallax Development website.

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Contact information

Media enquiries
Philip Morris International
T: +41 (0)58 242 4500
E: Ryan.Sparrow@pmi.com
or
Parallax Development Corp.
T: +1 416 209 0312
E: Pat.Tremaine@parallaxdev.ca