Philip Morris scours China start-ups for technology to replicate IQOS system in medical field
- The investing arm of Marlboro maker is seeking to invest in inhalation technology for potential applications in medical field
- IQOS heating system shares similar technology that can be useful vehicle for botanical medicine
Philip Morris, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes and the IQOS tobacco heating system, is scouring China’s start-up scene for inhalation technology that can be developed for the medical field as the tobacco giant seeks new paths outside its traditional consumer products business.
The effort is spearheaded by PM Equity Partner, a US$150 million Swiss-based venture fund seeded by its parent, with a focus on building stakes in healthier environmental, human and fast-moving consumer goods.
Philip Morris has said its long-term plan is to stop selling cigarettes eventually by converting its customers to the IQOS system.
Such investments could be the springboard into “new industries” related to the tobacco giant’s traditional business, according to investment manager Jason Gao.
That would follow in the step of IQOS, which uses electronic heating to induce nicotine vapour for inhalation, without burning the tobacco.