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 The decision comes after manufacturing issues delayed the commercial
launch of the inhaler, called Voke, which BAT worked on with Kind
Consumer, its original developer. Voke has been approved by
Britain's drug regulator as the first e-cigarette-like product of
its kind to be medically prescribed for people trying to quit
smoking.
BAT, the world's second-biggest international tobacco company, said
on Thursday that it would transfer manufacturing, intellectual
property and know-how assets to Kind Consumer, from which it
licensed the product, in return for deferred, contingent payments.
Financial details were not disclosed.
Kind said in the statement that it would seek a new global partner,
or possibly several regional partners, to accelerate distribution of
the nicotine inhaler this year.
Consort Medical, which was to supply the inhaler, said on Tuesday
that BAT had ended its supply agreement after the product failed to
launch in 2016, but said it remained in discussions with BAT and
Kind about the future of the product.
BAT, which is in talks on a $47 billion takeover of U.S. peer
Reynolds American, said its strategy on next-generation products
would focus on its Vype e-cigarette and its glo tobacco-heating
product.
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Voke uses liquid nicotine like e-cigarettes, but does not use a
battery to heat it into a vapor the way e-cigarettes do.
(Reporting by Martinne Geller in London; editing by Jason Neely and
Susan Fenton)
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