Yassine spent six months working at Intellicig HQ in the UK in order to become experienced and knowledgeable in this new industry that combines Bioscience with micro-technology. He then moved back to France and began to grow the business in line with a strategic development plan. Working closely with Intellicig France Director, Jean-Louis Conte, Yassine has been able to expand the business across various platforms, including their ecommerce website, retail and pharmacy outlets, and their ‘bricks and mortar’ flagship, Intellicig Electronic Cigarette Boutique in Avignon. The shop is the first of a retail chain set to roll out across the whole of France in selected locations. It is proving very popular and successful with French smokers who are keen to make the transition away from traditional tobacco cigarettes.

Yassine commented, “The Intellicig Boutique has created a great amount of interest which has been reflected in sales figures for the shop and the website. We have been featured in news media and economic publications for what we have achieved in a relatively short time and to be chosen as Entrepreneur of the year is a great honour that I must share with our staff, particularly Jean-Louis. We have all put in long hours and hard work to make this happen; having such a good product and excellent support from the Intellicig UK team will ensure a bright and secure future.”

The success in France is another chapter in the book for CN Creative, Intellicig’s parent company, which now has trade partners in 26 countries. This year should see another phenomenal expansion as the Intellicig brand continues to be first choice for those seeking a UK Made product with the highest pedigree. Even though some ‘e-liquid’ imported from the far east might be cheaper, discerning buyers are choosing Intellicig’s ECOpure for the reassurance of a product manufactured in a Bioscience laboratory using Ph Eur (European Pharmacopoeia) nicotine. The guarantee of quality and purity has maintained ECOpure’s status as industry leader for over three years and looks set to continue.

Anyone interested in selling Intellicig products in France should contact jeanlouis.conte@intellicig.fr

In addition, the types of businesses that are offering this phenomenal alternative to smoking include Hotel & Resort Gift Shops, Pharmacies, Gas Stations, Laundromats, Restaurants, Convenience Stores, Flower Shops, and other Specialty Shops. Even the correctional institute is considering Disposable Intellicigs for inmates. The Aruba Port Authority Tobacco Shop is also carrying the product, meaning business will boom as cruise ships are virtually all smoke-free and are not currently offering onboard alternatives to their guests.

News of Intellicig’s launch has spread quickly and sparked a wave of interest from a wide range of potential customers. Word quickly travels from island to island as interest continues to build and many other islands are following the lead set by the residents of Aruba.

In addition to providing a much less harmful alternative to cigarettes, the Intellicig produces no second hand smoke and leaves the atmosphere as clear as the azure sky that graces the island. Pharmacies have a particularly keen interest in Intellicig’s High Quality product as being a healthier option than tobacco products for their customers.

During a recent trip to Aruba, Sherry Cassaw, Managing Partner in the Intellicig USA office, met with the Marriott Hotel Manager, Louella Brezovar, who was delighted to hear about Intellicig’s amazing device and their UK-made eliquid. Marriott properties operate a ‘no smoking’ policy and Louella commented, “I would not object to my guests using Intellicig products in their rooms.” The Intellicig is a fire-safe product with no lit or burning components that could start a fire, thus making it a very attractive proposition for hoteliers;Louella is now interested in selling Intellicig in the Marriott’s gift shop. Not missing any opportunity, Thanya and Sherry visited the Minister of Health, Dr. Richard Visser, in December and Dr Visser saw the benefits of introducing Intellicig as a healthier choice to smoking.

The US team designed a special Mini Starter Kit which includes a battery, cartomizer, and a USB wall charger; it retails at just $26.99. Cartomizers are the newest trend in the US, each one delivering the same amount of ‘smoking’ as approximately 2½ packs of cigarettes. A five pack of the new cartomizers at $27.99 would equal 12 packs of cigarettes, providing significant savings for the customer. In some places on the island, a pack of cigarettes is sold between $7.00 and $8.00,meaning that by using an Intellicig, smokers could save approximately $68 over the cost of 12 packs of cigarettes.

The US business is growing rapidly as Intellicig USA’s Sherry Cassaw and her colleagues continue to enlighten consumers and resellers on the many benefits of Intellicig. The Atlanta team also continues to grow with several recent new hires in sales, admin, and logistics.

Such a small island is setting such a big example! This Eco-friendly product will help to protect our environment as well as helping individuals to ‘smoke’ in a less harmful way.

Martin Johnson, Intellicig’s E-commerce Manager, commented, “The website is a living, breathing entity that changes and grows on a daily basis, making it an exciting project to be involved with. We spent a lot of time in the planning stages so that we could analyse customer feedback and implement their suggestions where possible. We have invested in an in-house team to be able to integrate many new features and create a bespoke website. We are also able to offer that expertise to help Trading Partners set up Intellicig websites worldwide, further enhancing global brand awareness of Intellicig electronic cigarettes”.

Here are just some of the new features already created for visitors:

Intellicig Rewards – customers earn points on every purchase they make which they can spend in the store.

They can also earn points by various other channels such as;

• Liking a product on Facebook
• Voting in a Poll
• Rating a product
• Sending a product to a friend

Intellicig Referrals – referring friends earns customers points for the referral and even more points for future purchases that the new customer makes. The more referrals, the more customers earn for themselves.

Intellicig Chat – enables customers to chat online with one of Intellicig’s trained advisors. Intellicig has always been customer-friendly with a readily available customer service team answering calls, replying to emails, and responding to requests submitted via their online support ticket system.

More exciting developments are already in the pre-launch testing stage and will be appearing soon.

Sherry Cassaw, co-founder and Managing Partner of Intellicig USA, stated, “We conducted lots of research before entering into the electronic cigarette market, much of it into the quality and safety aspects of the products we intended to sell. Intellicig came out head and shoulders above all others, largely because they have taken complete control of manufacturing the eliquid that is used in their electronic cigarettes. Their ECOpure liquid is produced in a pharmaceutical environment in their UK laboratories and every batch is HPLC tested and issued with a Certificate of Analysis. They use minimum ingredients and do not rely on adding chemical preservatives to ensure stability of their product. Having this reassurance of quality is a key factor to discerning US consumers, many of whom are very impressed to learn that the eliquid they are inhaling is manufactured in a state-of-the-art Bioscience Facility within Manchester University. We have laid solid foundations throughout 2011 and this year will see Intellicig USA making further major inroads into the mainstream retail and pharmacy sectors”.

With some exciting new products launching soon to complement the Intellicig USA range, the future looks bright and healthy for this vibrant young company.

Despite large-scale public health efforts, about 20% of adults in the UK and the US continue to smoke. Smoking remains the most common cause of preventable death in the Western world and generates enormous costs for healthcare systems worldwide. Two-thirds of smokers report that they would like to quit, and about three-quarters of current smokers say they have tried to stop, but smoking is a powerfully addictive habit that can make quitting very difficult or almost impossible. Fewer than 10% of smokers are estimated to achieve success when trying to stop smoking on their own. In addition, studies show that currently available NRT products help only a small proportion of smokers to stop smoking permanently.

“CN Creative provides innovative approaches to reduce the harm caused by smoking, by helping smokers quit whenever possible or reduce their consumption of cigarettes when total abstinence is not achievable,” said David Newns, a co-founder and Company Director of CN Creative. “We believe our Nicadex electronic inhaler NRT, which will deliver pharmaceutical-grade nicotine using advanced electronic vaporisation technology, has the potential to help significant numbers of smokers stop entirely or significantly reduce their exposure to harmful tobacco smoke.”

Nicadex is similar in concept to the electronic cigarettes currently marketed to adult consumers by CN Creative and others, but with several key differences.

First, Nicadex will be tested in clinical trials and then submitted for regulatory review under the process used for other prescription NRT products, initially through the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and then through the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory agencies.

Second, CNC intends to market the Nicadex electronic inhaler as a medically supervised NRT designed to reduce the harm caused by smoking and to help smokers quit as part of a comprehensive smoking cessation programme.

Third, the Nicadex electronic inhaler has been specially engineered and will be manufactured in the UK under the same stringent standards used for regulated medical products, and the pharmaceutical-grade nicotine solution it uses is being produced by CNC in its own UK-based cGMP facilities approved for the manufacture of prescription drugs.

“The support from our colleagues at Advent Life Sciences will enable CNC to undertake the clinical trials and medical regulatory review needed to confirm the safety and efficacy of Nicadex and to prepare for commercialisation. We expect to file for regulatory approval of the Nicadex electronic inhaler in the UK later this year,” added CN Creative co-founder and Company Director Chris Lord.

Nicadex is a hand-held device that delivers purified nicotine to the user through the vaporisation of a pharmaceutical-grade solution of nicotine. A rechargeable lithium battery powers the vaporiser that instantly turns the nicotine solution into a vapour that is inhaled by the user. Many users report that the sensation of using the Nicadex device is similar to smoking, but the vapour contains no smoke and none of the carbon monoxide, tar or thousands of toxic impurities that make smoking tobacco products so damaging to health. In addition, since there is no smoke, there are no smoke by-products that can cause “second-hand” harm to others.

“Decades of smoking cessation initiatives have had a positive impact on public health but millions continue to smoke and new approaches are urgently needed,” noted long-time smoking cessation and public health advocate Dr. Chris Steele. “I am encouraged by the potential of the innovative Nicadex electronic inhaler being developed by CNC, which provides a smoke-free, tobacco-free nicotine replacement product in a format that is highly acceptable to smokers. If approved, Nicadex could be a valuable addition to our smoking cessation toolkit, immediately reducing the harm caused by smoking and enabling many smokers to proceed over time to full cessation. CNC’s emphasis on clinical testing, regulatory review, medical supervision and supportive services is encouraging, and I look forward to seeing the results of the clinical trials the company will be conducting this year.”

A distinctive element of CNC’s strategy is its recognition of the value of harm reduction. As noted in the influential 2010 UK government report, A Smokefree Future, “The tar and the carbon monoxide in smoked tobacco are the primary causes of smoking-related disease and death. … Nicotine (in the doses obtained from smoked and smokeless tobacco) is not a significant contributor to disease.” The report proposes that harm reduction measures should be an important element of smoking cessation programmes, noting that “this strategy … opens more routes to quitting, which, we believe, will help thousands more smokers to quit successfully. The new routes will encourage smokers to … manage their nicotine addiction using a safer alternative product … and dramatically reduce the harmful effects to their health, and the harmful effects to those around them. ...”

Similarly, after a comprehensive review of the medical and scientific literature, the American Association of Public Health Physicians (AAPHP) became the first medical organisation in the US officially to endorse tobacco harm reduction as a viable strategy to reduce the death toll related to cigarette smoking. It advocates in its white paper, The Case for Harm Reduction, that inveterate smokers – who are unable or unwilling to abstain from nicotine and tobacco – should be encouraged to switch to lower-risk smokeless tobacco products.

Dale R. Pfost, PhD, a General Partner at Advent Life Sciences and the newly appointed Chairman of CN Creative commented, “CNC’s strategy of applying their smoking cessation expertise and the technology innovations first deployed in their Intellicig® electronic cigarettes to provide smokers with an advanced electronic inhaler nicotine replacement therapy is a potential game changer. We believe that Nicadex will significantly increase smokers’ chances of ending or reducing their reliance on smoking, while also reducing the well-documented health risks caused by smoking tobacco. With this investment in CN Creative, we aim to continue our track record of investing in innovative life science companies with the potential to become best-in-class in their fields.”

Kaasim Mahmood, a Partner at Advent Life Sciences who is joining the CN Creative Board of Directors, added, “We believe CNC’s products have great clinical and commercial potential, and we are delighted to provide the CNC team with financial and strategic support as they embark on the clinical studies and regulatory review process central to the success of this exciting new approach.”

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Department of Health (2010). A Smokefree Future, 2010. Available at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/documents/digitalasset/dh_111789.pdf.
Nitzkin JL, Rodu B. Tobacco Control Task Force, American Association of Public Health Physicians.
The Case for Harm Reduction for Control of Tobacco-related Illness and Death, 2008. Available at: http://www.aaphp.org/Resources/Documents/20081026HarmReductionResolutionAsPassedl.pdf

_________________________________________________________

About CN Creative
Headquartered in the Bioscience Incubator at Manchester University in the UK, CN Creative provides innovative and sustainable solutions to global problems arising from smoking and smoking-related illnesses. It has developed a distinctive portfolio of products and services focused on smoking cessation and harm reduction, including user-friendly nicotine delivery systems and patient-focused smoking cessation and support services. CNC’s diverse products include QuitDirect, an NHS-accredited supplier of comprehensive smoking cessation services, the Intellicig® electronic cigarette, ECOpure proprietary high purity nicotine preparations and NRT Direct, which provides traditional nicotine replacement therapy products and patient support services to publicly and privately sponsored smoking cessation programmes. CNC’s Nicadex™ electronic inhaler nicotine replacement therapy product is in clinical development for use as part of medically supervised smoking cessation programmes. For more information, visit www.cncbio.co.uk.

About Advent Life Sciences
Advent Life Sciences is the dedicated Life Sciences Fund at Advent Venture Partners, one of Europe’s best-established growth and venture capital firms. Advent Life Sciences invests predominantly in early-stage and growth equity life sciences companies in the UK, Europe and the US. It will back companies that have a first- or best-in-class approach in a range of sectors within the life sciences, including new drug discovery, enabling technologies, med-tech and diagnostics.

The Advent Life Sciences team is a leader in European life sciences capital. Its investments include PowderMed, a therapeutic DNA vaccine company sold to Pfizer; Thiakis, an obesity treatment company acquired by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals; Respivert, a drug discovery company focused on respiratory diseases acquired by Johnson & Johnson; EUSA Pharma, a rapidly growing transatlantic specialty pharmaceutical company focused on late-stage oncology, pain control and critical care products; and, Algeta (OSE: ALGETA), an oncology company developing treatments for bone metastases and disseminated tumours. For more information see www.adventventures.com.

For more information, please contact:

CN Creative
Media
Barbara Lindheim or Jennifer Anderson, BioCom Partners:
blindheim@biocompartners.com, +1 212 584-2276 ext. 201
janderson@biocompartners.com, +1 212 584-2276 ext. 202
Corporate
David Newns
david.newns@cncbio.com, +44 (0) 7834 767 367

Advent Life Sciences
Sophie Kreifman, Grayling:
sophie.kreifman@grayling.com, +44 20 7592 7924

David Newns, an Intellicig Director, commented, “To be selected to appear on national TV is yet another accolade that is the result of over three year’s intense research and dedicated hard work into developing a UK-made product. Smokers choosing Intellicig have the reassurance that the ECOpure Nicotine Liquid used in the device is wholly manufactured and quality-tested in a Bioscience Laboratory in Manchester, UK. Knowing exactly where the product is made and the ingredients used are key factors for discerning consumers and this has helped Intellicig to remain at the forefront in the electronic cigarette industry. The smile on Linda’s face as she tried the Intellicig is one that we have seen countless times as smokers discover the Intellicig experience. If Linda can now stay off cigarettes and avoid suffering as many of her family have, we will all be very pleased”.

Intellicig has grown from a start-up in 2008 into a multi-million pound global concern with worldwide distribution networks and international partners supplying a constantly growing demand.

You can watch this interview on Youtube.

Intellicig has already formed numerous strategic partnerships with key suppliers and their latest venture has seen Intellicig products take centre stage in Hungary.

A dedicated website at www.intellicig.hu is complemented by a strong presence on social networks such as Facebook. The UK connection is important as it is seen as a stamp of quality, which is reflected on partner websites and packaging.

As more and more countries introduce smoking bans and campaigns, Intellicig continues its pioneering work in the field of Smoking Harm Reduction by offering solutions and alternatives to traditional cigarettes. Some smokers are able to quit smoking using NRT or other methods, but many try to give up and then relapse into their old habit. Intellicig offers a genuine choice to those wishing to replace cigarettes with a less harmful option and this is being seen by smokers as a realistic, affordable, and socially-acceptable solution. Electronic cigarettes have advanced from being perceived as a novelty just a few years ago to becoming a fully-fledged, mainstream market contender with Intellicig flying the flag and leading the way.

The kit comes in its own, conveniently-sized Intellicig carry case which keeps everything safe and to hand. We have also included an Intellicig Lanyard so that you can keep your Intellicig close at hand whether at home, in the car, or at work. Included in the kit are 15 Refill Capsules containing ECOpure, the renowned eliquid produced by Intellicig in their Bioscience Laboratories. They equate to approximately 90 cigarettes worth of 'smoking'.

Just for good measure and to ensure that you receive fantastic value, we have also included 10ml of ECOpure in the flavour and strength of your choice. The ECOpure can be used to refill your Capsules and is the equivalent of 150 cigarettes. That means you have the equivalent of 240 cigarettes, or 12 packs of 20, which alone would cost more than the Jubilee Kit.

Besides saving you lots of money by making the transition to Intellicig, you will also earn Reward Points on every purchase you make, including this one. Your points can then be redeemed against future purchases.

The Intellicig Jubilee Kit is a Limited Edition and represents amazing value.

We pride ourselves in selling products that don't come back to customers who do.

Included in the Jubilee Kit:

• Intellicig Soft Carry Case
• Satin Silver Limited Edition Atom Batteries x2
• Black Vapour Device x1
• USB charger
• 5 ECOpure Black Refill Capsules
• 10ml ECOpure
• Intellicig Lanyard

Buy your Limited Edition Intellicig HERE

In the electronic cigarette and eliquid market, ECOpure stands proudly at the forefront as the most rigorously tested and purest brand. Conceived three years ago by the Intellicig R&D experts, ECOpure has become synonymous with quality, purity, simplicity, and value. Manufactured in an ISO Class 8 Clean Room, the product specification is designed around quality and safety to ensure that every batch of ECOpure conforms to the rigorous tests stated in the European Pharmacopoeia monograph for Nicotine.

This stringent testing procedure includes:

•    Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
•    Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (GCMS)
•    Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (LCMS)
•    High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

Utilising High Performance Liquid Chromatography testing equipment enables Intellicig to issue Certificates of Analysis with every batch of liquid produced. The HPLC stamp guarantees quality of manufacture.

Intellicig’s extensive quality control tests and checks have been inserted throughout the manufacturing process to maintain the highest standards. Abundant Operating Procedures and Work Flow Instructions have been initiated as integral components in a Quality Management System on track for medical device accreditation. Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines have been followed for some time and full (GMP) manufacturing is scheduled for early 2012.

In simple terms, Intellicig’s goal is for the end user to have the purest experience of using electronic cigarettes and that can only be achieved by providing them with the purest eliquid. ECOpure has become the eliquid of choice and worldwide sales figures continue to rise. ‘Manufactured in the UK’ carries great sway, but only when it is backed up with a product and brand that delivers. Intellicig doesn’t add lots of unnecessary chemicals and additives to their eliquids; they achieve better results by focusing on manufacturing technique rather than the addition of preservatives to increase product shelf life. Intellicig believes that consumer safety should come first and the addition of preservative ingredients is not necessarily the first step in increasing product shelf life.

Electronic cigarettes are here to stay and demand is growing, especially for a brand that is produced in ISO Accredited laboratories in the UK. Intellicig ECOpure is that brand and has achieved phenomenal success since its introduction three years ago. Eliquid is the liquid Nicotine preparation used to create the vapour in an electronic cigarette; as the user draws on the device, a tiny amount of eliquid is heated and vaporised ready for inhalation. The vapour delivers the ‘throat-hit’ that smokers are accustomed to and delivers a measured dose of Nicotine to the bloodstream. Intellicig has invested substantially in the development and manufacture of ECOpure, the now renowned eliquid, and has successfully completed numerous Blood Plasma trials to establish accurate figures on the amount of Nicotine delivered from Intellicig electronic cigarettes using ECOpure eliquid. These trials are essential as a method of ensuring the consumer is not put at risk from excessive nicotine levels. Intellicig has conducted trials on test groups with a variety of ECOpure preparations to establish safe limits of use. This has enabled Intellicig to produce ECOpure eliquid and ECOpure Refill Capsules that offer a realistic alternative to smoking and deliver comparable levels of Nicotine.

When the end user receives their ECOpure Refill Capsules, they are invariably impressed with the product. The Refills come in a handy wallet and are blister-packed with a child-resistant foil backing. The Refills themselves are individually foil-sealed in the production clean-room at Intellicig’s laboratory so that they arrive pure and fresh, ready to use. The packaging carries information and instructions that meets and exceeds CHIP requirements and the ‘Made In The UK’ and ‘HPLC’ stamps provide reassurance that ECOpure Refills are tested to the highest standards. The Refills are end-to-end manufactured in the UK, giving Intellicig complete control over quality and safety.

Intellicig offers services to other companies who perhaps cannot afford the high levels of investment that Intellicig has made; these include providing ECOpure in quantities ranging from 1 litre to 1,000 litres, filling various types of Refill Capsules, and a full range of testing services. Please feel free to contact us to discuss your requirements whether they are for services or retail opportunities.