TobaccoReporter logo

Tag: Reynolds Vapor Corp

  • Nearly Half of Alto Users Quit Smoking: Study

    Nearly Half of Alto Users Quit Smoking: Study

    Nearly 45 percent of participants who use Vuse Alto in a study completely switched away from cigarettes, according to the interim results of research conducted by Reynolds American Inc. (RAI).

    The proportion of Vuse users who reported completely switching was higher for young adults aged 21–29 versus those who were 30 years or older; the proportion of Vuse users who reported completely switching was higher among minority demographics versus those who identified as non-Hispanic white; and the proportion of Vuse users who reported completely switching was higher among those who use menthol-flavored Vuse products versus those who use tobacco-flavored Vuse products.

    For adults who smoke and had yet to switch completely, there was a greater reduction in cigarettes smoked per day for participants who used menthol-flavored Vuse products than those who used tobacco-flavored Vuse products.

    The findings are part of a 24-month study, termed the Longitudinal Tobacco Use and Transitions Survey (LTTS), in support of RAI’s premarket tobacco product application for Vuse Alto.

    Reynolds presented a summary of the interim results through the first year of the LTTS at the Food and Drug Law Institute Tobacco and Nicotine Regulatory Product Science Symposium on March 30, 2023, to an audience that included senior officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products as well as several prominent public health researchers.

    James Murphy, global director of research and science, and Chris Junker, vice president of science and regulatory affairs, provided an overview of the study’s importance and interim results in a video.

    In early October, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued marketing denial orders (MDO) for six flavored Vuse Alto-branded products. At the request of Reynolds, an appeals court stayed the order, allowing Reynolds to continue offering Vuse Alto menthol products pending review of the company’s formal challenge of the order.

  • Reynolds Requests Retrial of Vuse IP Case

    Reynolds Requests Retrial of Vuse IP Case

    Image: inimalGraphic

    R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. has asked for a new trial after a U.S. District Court awarded rival Altria Client Services $95.23 million in damages related to an e-cigarette intellectual property dispute, reports the Winston-Salem Journal.

    In early September, a federal jury determined that Reynolds Vapor’s Vuse Alto product infringes on three Altria patents.

    In its retrial request, Reynolds Vapor stated that “Altria’s improper injection of inflammatory evidence regarding patent infringement allegations against Reynolds in other cases denied Reynolds a fair trial. Erroneous evidentiary rulings also prejudiced Reynolds’ ability to present its defense. Those errors independently, and under the cumulative error doctrine, affected the verdict such that a complete new trial is required.”

    Altria said in a statement that “this was a fair trial. There is no basis for another trial, and we are pleased that the jury correctly found that Reynolds Vapor has infringed a number of our patents.”

    The complaint concerns three patents awarded to Altria Client Services by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office based on filings in April 2015.

    Altria alleged Reynolds Vapor violated Altria’s patents covering the pod assembly used in Vuse Alto.

    Reynolds believes the lawsuit was filed in retaliation for patent infringement complaints filed by Reynolds in April 2020 for infringement by Philip Morris International’s IQOS tobacco-heating device of six Reynolds patents.

    Until recently, Altria was the exclusive U.S. distributor for IQOS in the United States.

    On Sept. 29, 2021, the U.S. International Trade Commission upheld an initial determination from May 2021 that Philip Morris International’s IQOS device infringes on two patents owned by Reynolds. The ruling barred Altria Group from importing IQOS products into the U.S.

  • Reynolds Hit with $95 Million Verdict in Vapor Patent Dispute

    Reynolds Hit with $95 Million Verdict in Vapor Patent Dispute

    Photo: New Africa

    A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina awarded Altria Client Services more than $95 million after finding that Reynolds Vapor Co.’s Vuse Alto e-vapor product infringed three Altria patents.

    The jury awarded $95.23 million in past damages through June 30, 2022. Post-trial proceedings will address ongoing damages through the expiration of Altria’s patents in 2035. At trial, Altria urged the jury to find a royalty rate of 5.25 percent, which the jury accepted in returning its award of past damages.

    “Patents are at the core of innovation, and we take very seriously protecting our intellectual property,” said Murray Garnick, executive vice president and general counsel of Altria, in a statement. “We are pleased that the jury recognized the importance of Altria’s innovation and the value of its patent rights.”

    At issue in this case were three patents awarded to Altria Client Services by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office based on filings dating back to April 2015. The jury found that Reynolds Vapor violated Altria’s patents covering the pod assembly used in Vuse Alto.

    The case is Altria Client Services vs. Reynolds Vapor Company et al.