According to the press release, both PMI and KT&G recognize the importance of the US market to advance their shared strategic vision of a smoke-free future. Following the companies’ announcement on 30 January 2023, of an agreement providing exclusive rights for PMI to commercialize KT&G’s innovative smoke-free products in markets outside South Korea, this non-binding memorandum establishes the parties’ intent to collaborate on regulatory submissions for those new KT&G heat-not-burn products that PMI selects to commercialize in the US, states the press release.

KT&G’s new platform products are expected to be launched first outside the US. Thereafter, the partners plan to work on a Pre-Market Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) submission for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA), in accordance with the memorandum.


“We want every adult smoker who does not quit smoking to switch to a science-backed, better alternative, for the benefit of their own and public health. The heat-not-burn category, with different tiers of FDA-authorized products, has a pivotal role to play in making cigarettes obsolete in the U.S.,” said Jacek Olczak, PMI’s Chief Executive Officer.