Tobacco.org

Price of Not Smoking - $500M; Nabi, GSK in NicVax Partnership 

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, the first firm ever to enter Phase III testing of an antinicotine vaccine, inked a deal potentially worth $500 million, including $40 million up front, granting GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals a worldwide option to exclusively in-license NicVAX and develop follow-on next-generation nicotine vaccines using Nabi's intellectual property.

Investors reacted Monday by pushing shares of Rockville, Md.-based Nabi (NASDAQ:NABI) up 26.4 percent, or 94 cents, to close at $4.50.

Nabi CEO Raafat Fahim said the partnership not only gives his company a financial boost, but "it gives us also the respect and prestige that comes with not just any big pharma, but the right big pharma for this product."

Nabi recently received a $10 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to fund the first of two Phase III studies, which got under way earlier this month, testing NicVAX as a treatment for nicotine addiction and as a therapy to prevent smoking relapse. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 4, 2009.)

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Nabi Biopharmaceuticals to Hold Conference Call 

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:NABI) today announced that it will host a live webcast and conference call at 11:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, November 17 to discuss today's announcement of the exclusive worldwide option and licensing agreement for NicVAX(R), a nicotine conjugate candidate vaccine, between GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA and Nabi Biopharmaceuticals.

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• Nabi makes deal for smoking vaccine 

The Rockville maker of an experimental nicotine vaccine has signed a licensing deal with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline that could produce a huge payday if the anti-smoking drug can be successfully brought to market.

Nabi Bioparmaceuticals outlined the terms of the deal Monday. It said a unit of GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to pay $40 million initially for the exclusive worldwide licensing rights to the drug, called NicVax.

Nabi would receive additional money if it meets certain developmental and regulatory milestones, including the development of follow-up nicotine vaccines. Nabi would also earn double-digit royalties from sales if the product reaches the market.

All told, Nabi could collect more than $500 million from the development and sale of the vaccine and its successors, the company said.

"It's the biggest deal we've ever had," said Raafat Fahim, Nabi's president and chief executive. He added that NicVax would become the company's flagship product if it successfully passes final rounds of testing.

Nabi says its vaccine causes a body's immune system to produce antibodies that bind to nicotine molecules, making them too large to reach the brain's receptors.

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• S.F. moves to curtail tobacco outlets  

Smokers are huffing and businesses fuming over a controversial new proposal to drastically reduce the number of stores in The City that can sell cigarettes.

Since 2003, retailers hawking tobacco products in San Francisco have had to apply for a special permit. The permitting process helps The City keep track of sellers and crack down on those vending to minors, officials said.

But now there are too many permits citywide -- particularly in low-income neighborhoods -- according to city officials and anti-tobacco advocates, who have created legislation that would greatly reduce the number of stores that sell tobacco.

An initial proposal imposes a cap of 35 permits for each of the 11 supervisor districts -- 385 total in The City. That is a more than a two-thirds reduction from the 1,097 stores currently selling tobacco products citywide.

The proposal would not take away permits from businesses, but it would reduce them through attrition until there are no more than 35 per district. Also, owners would not be able to transfer the permits when they sell their stores, said Janet Clyde, a commissioner in the Office of Small Business.

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ITC: Book Profits 

The likely moderation in tobacco business growth and forays into less profitable categories are the primary reasons to exit the stock at these valuations.

Building a brand reputation in the personal products business may entail high spending.

Investors can consider booking profits in ITC shares, as the stock valuations (30 times trailing earnings, at Rs 254) seem to have outpaced the medium-term growth prospects. Forays into businesses less profitable than the core tobacco business and the likely moderation in growth rates for tobacco are the primary reasons for the recommendation.

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• 'Rolling Stone' Fights Claim It Misappropriated Indie Bands' Names to Promote Cigarettes 

Fending off accusations it misappropriated the names of more than 185 indie rockers to promote cigarettes, Rolling Stone magazine on Thursday appeared to have one appellate justice solidly in its corner.

However, two votes are needed to win and one justice was absent during oral arguments in San Francisco's 1st District Court of Appeal. The third didn't tip his hand.

Rolling Stone was sued last year by a class of indie bands -- led by the San Francisco Bay Area's Xiu Xiu and Toronto's Fucked Up -- who claimed the magazine had traded on their names by using them in a November 2007 graphic/article juxtaposed with a four-page, fold-out advertisement by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. that touted Camel cigarettes and the manufacturer's collaborations with indie groups. . . .

Nonetheless, the bands claim Rolling Stone intentionally used their names to help R.J. Reynolds sell Camels and that the ad implied the bands endorsed the product.

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• Airports not for tobacco ban 

CHANGI Airport has put its weight behind a global airports group opposing a World Health Organisation (WHO) proposal to ban the sale of duty-free tobacco products on airport premises.

The Airports Council International (ACI), which groups 1,679 airports worldwide, including Changi, maintains that this move will hurt airport earnings, as well as penalise the travelling public.

The issue surfaced at the group's annual meeting recently, in response to suggestions made by the WHO that such a ban would stem the illegal trade in tobacco products.

Member airports agree that they will not stand for such a ban and will work with their respective governments to protect the interests of passengers and the rights of airports and retailers.

This was one of several resolutions approved at the end of the ACI's two-day gathering in Kuala Lumpur last week.

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Thailand Tobacco Monopoly Took Part in Flood Relief Activity 

Mrs. Chuenjai Thongkam, the director of Marketing Department, Thailand Tobacco Monopoly, presented 3,000 relief supplies to people affected by flooding under the Flood Relief Activity jointly organized by SF Cinema City Company Limited, Royal Thai Air Force and Sony Picture, at Baan Krung Krak, Taenangngam, Bangrakam District, Phitsanulok Province, November 6 2009.

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Schweitzer-Mauduit Announces Common Stock Offering 

Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. (NYSE: SWM) ("Schweitzer-Mauduit" or "the company") today announced that it plans to publicly offer 1.8 million shares of its common stock in an underwritten offering. In addition, the company intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of shares sold. Goldman, Sachs & Co. is serving as the sole book-running manager for the offering. Co-managers for the offering include SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc., Davenport & Company LLC and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

The company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including the company's planned funding of the construction and working capital needs of a new Reconstituted Tobacco Leaf (RTL) facility in the Philippines and a potential equity contribution for an RTL joint venture in China.

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M & F Worldwide Corp. Reports Third Quarter and Year-To-Date 2009 Results 

- M & F Worldwide Corp. ("M & F Worldwide" or the "Company") (NYSE: MFW) today reported results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009. Additionally, M & F Worldwide filed its quarterly report on Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission today.

M & F Worldwide will host a conference call to discuss its third quarter and year-to-date 2009 results on November 12, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. (EST). . . .

The decline in net revenues was due to lower shipment volumes for all of Mafco Worldwide's products, primarily from order shipment timing, continued worldwide consumption declines in tobacco products using licorice and the continued rationalization of inventories by Altria and PMI subsequent to Altria's spin-off of PMI in 2008. Operating income for the Licorice Products segment decreased by $4.9 million, or 16.8%, to $24.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 from $29.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2008. The decrease in operating income was primarily due to the decline in net revenues and increased raw material costs.

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Mouth Cancer - A Deadly Disease - On the Increase 

Mouth cancer (also called oral cancer) is a malignant growth which can occur in any part of the mouth including the lips and tongue. In the UK, the numbers of new cases have risen by over 41 per cent over the last ten years(1). About 5,325 people get cancer of the mouth each year and the disease kills one person every five hours. Treated in its early stages, mouth cancer is curable but if not detected early, it kills around one in two sufferers.

Anyone can be affected by mouth cancer, whether they have their own teeth or not. Smoking, or chewing tobacco (or betel quid/paan/gutkha), greatly increases your chances of getting mouth cancer. Heavy drinking is also a risk. If you do both, your chances of getting mouth cancer are much greater. This cancer is more common in men than women and more likely to occur in people age 40 years and older. Experts today, however, are concerned about rising numbers of this cancer in younger age groups. The HPV virus from sexual contact is believed to account for this. . . .

In addition to this lifestyle counselling and regular screening, dental practices can now offer patients an extended test using a new mouth cancer screening system which can identify abnormal areas of the mouth, identifying areas of potential risk even before they become cancer. The latest system is called ViziLite Plus which is used extensively in the USA as an aid to early detection and has been widely introduced into the UK.

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• Underage smoking 'should be illegal' 

Underage smoking should be an offence like underage drinking, says the peak body for corner stores and petrol stations.

The Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) is calling on government to make it illegal for under 18s to smoke, handing police the power to issue fines or court attendance notices.

AACS executive director Sheryle Moon, says existing youth anti-smoking measures place a "disproportionate burden on retailers".

"Where is the deterrent to make our kids stub out?" Ms Moon said in a statement.

"We believe it is high time that the responsibility for youth smoking is shared and our young people are given a reason to think twice before sparking up.

"We agree convenience stores have a key role to play in limiting minors access to cigarettes, but we can only do so much."

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• Reynolds in Talks to Buy Sweden's Niconovum  

Tobacco giant Reynolds American Inc. is in advanced talks to buy a Swedish maker of products that help people stop smoking, a move that could signal a profound shift in direction in the global tobacco industry.

Reynolds, the second-largest U.S. cigarette maker by sales, is near a deal to buy closely held Niconovum AB, according to David Sweanor, a Canadian law professor and tobacco expert who says he was briefed by people close to the deal.

Niconovum, based in Helsingborg, makes nicotine-replacement therapies such as Zonnic pouch and Zonnic gum. The company, whose products aren't currently sold in the U.S., was formed in 2000 by Karl Olov Fagerstrom, a leading expert in nicotine dependence who has been involved in such products as Nicorette gum.

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UK hopes bill will tackle smoking in children  

23 000 children aged 11—15 years bought cigarettes from vending machines in 2008, estimates the British Heart Foundation. And so the recent vote by members of parliament in the House of Commons for a health bill to ban cigarette vending machines and point of sale tobacco displays in the UK is being applauded by antismoking campaigners.

Smoking costs the UK's National Health Service £5 billion a year. Antismoking efforts in the UK over the past decade have been aggressive and there has been some progress but current statistics indicate that there is still a long way to go. In the past 10 years, the number of smokers has dropped by almost 2·5 million; however, more than 10 million adults in the UK are smokers and 80 000 people still die from smoking-associated diseases every year in England alone.

But the focus has now moved to child and adolescent smokers, particularly as new statistics indicate that 66% of adult smokers started when they were under age.

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• Insurance discounts for healthy habits spur debate in Washington 

Who could object to rewarding people who quit smoking, lose weight or start to exercise? The American Cancer Society and the American Heart Assn., for starters.

Some companies are charging lower insurance premiums to workers who meet benchmarks for healthy living. The Senate's healthcare overhaul legislation would expand the trend.

But instead of cheering the proposal, some patient advocacy and health groups are worried that it could mean higher rates for less-fit Americans, possibly pricing them out of their employers' insurance plans.

"It is a way of cherry-picking," said Dick Woodruff, senior director of federal affairs for the American Cancer Society. "We are all for workplace wellness, but when you tie it to the insurance pricing system, it's a real problem."

Critics of the Senate proposal also say that giving special treatment to those who meet a company's fitness standards could undercut one of the marquee promises of the Democrats' proposed overhaul: preventing employers and insurers from discriminating against people on the basis of their health status and preexisting medical conditions. . . .

Opponents hope to water down the Senate provision in the legislative maneuvering ahead. A coalition of patient-advocacy and health groups said in a letter to Congress: "We believe that provisions increasing premium variations allowed under current law can -- if used unwisely -- be a back door to making coverage to the sick unaffordable."

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