22nd Century Group Announces Resignation of Sullivan and Mish from the Board of Directors

Rhea-AI Summary

22nd Century Group, Inc. announces the resignation of Directors Nora Sullivan and James Mish, aiming to reduce the board size to four seats to enhance corporate cost efficiency. Larry Firestone, Chairman and CEO, expresses gratitude for their service and emphasizes the company's focus on achieving breakeven operations, expecting to save over $1 million annually.

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• 22nd Century Group, Inc. aims to enhance corporate cost efficiency by reducing the board size and compensation, expecting to save more than $1 million annually.

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• None.

Intends to Reduce Board to Four Seats in Upcoming Proxy

Mocksville, North Carolina--(Newsfile Corp. - April 18, 2024) - 22nd Century Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: XXII), a tobacco products company focused on nicotine harm reduction, today announced that Nora Sullivan and James Mish have resigned as a Directors, effective immediately. The Company does not intend to fill the vacated seats and will instead reduce the board to 4 seats as part of its focus on corporate cost efficiency.

Said Larry Firestone, Chairman and CEO: "We thank Nora and Jim for their service to the company over the years. We plan to reduce the size of the board in 2024, in addition to the previously announced reduction in board compensation, consistent with our efforts to achieve breakeven operations. In total, these changes to our board are expected to save more than $1 million annually."

About 22nd Century Group, Inc.

22nd Century Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: XXII) is an agricultural biotechnology company focused on tobacco harm reduction, reduced nicotine tobacco and improving health and wellness through plant science. With dozens of patents allowing it to control nicotine biosynthesis in the tobacco plant, the Company has developed proprietary reduced nicotine content (RNC) tobacco plants and cigarettes, which have become the cornerstone of the FDA's Comprehensive Plan to address the widespread death and disease caused by smoking. The Company received the first and only FDA Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) authorization for a combustible cigarette in December 2021. 22nd Century uses modern plant breeding technologies, including genetic engineering, gene-editing, and molecular breeding to deliver solutions for the life science and consumer products industries by creating new, proprietary plants with optimized alkaloid and flavonoid profiles as well as improved yields and valuable agronomic traits.

Learn more at xxiicentury.com, on Twitter, on LinkedIn, and on YouTube.

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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to our full year business outlook. Forward-looking statements typically contain terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "consider," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "explore," "foresee," "goal," "guidance," "intend," "likely," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "preliminary," "probable," "project," "promising," "seek," "should," "will," "would," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding (i) our strategic alternatives and cost reduction initiatives, (ii) our expectations regarding regulatory enforcement, including our ability to receive an exemption from new regulations, (iii) our financial and operating performance and (iv) our expectations for our business interruption insurance claim. Actual results might differ materially from those explicit or implicit in forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are set forth in "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 28, 2024. All information provided in this release is as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Investor Relations & Media Contact
Matt Kreps
Investor Relations
22nd Century Group
mkreps@xxiicentury.com
214-597-8200

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/206098

FAQ

Why did Nora Sullivan and James Mish resign from the Board of Directors of 22nd Century Group, Inc.?

Nora Sullivan and James Mish resigned from the Board of Directors of 22nd Century Group, Inc. to reduce the board size to four seats for corporate cost efficiency.

What is the intention of 22nd Century Group, Inc. regarding the vacant board seats?

22nd Century Group, Inc. does not intend to fill the vacated seats and plans to reduce the board to four seats as part of its focus on corporate cost efficiency.

How much is 22nd Century Group, Inc. expected to save annually with the changes to the board?

22nd Century Group, Inc. is expected to save more than $1 million annually with the changes to the board.

Who is the Chairman and CEO of 22nd Century Group, Inc.?

Larry Firestone is the Chairman and CEO of 22nd Century Group, Inc.