Devil transforms into saint

Philip Morris International, one of world’s biggest tobacco companies who sells 50 billion cigarettes a year under Marlboro, Chesterfield and L&H, lodged a bid for Vectira, a UK inhaler maker, whose 200-strong scientists based in Cambridge and Chippenham devise inhalers for respiratory drugs. Vectra’s board led by chairman Bruno Angelici, a former international president of AstraZeneca, has recommended that shareholders to accept the bid, which had trumped previous bid from private equity group Carlyle. Philip Morris and BAT say they are moving away from cigarettes to vapes and heated tobacco. Philip Morris also said it is working on using the technology it has developed for its some-free products including Iqos brand to help drug companies to develop inhalable medicines.

Bat is working on Covid treatment.

Philip Morris’s bid values Vectura shares at 169p each including a payment of the 19p interim dividend, against Carlyle’s 155p. Philip Morris said the deal would form part of a natural evolution into a broader healthcare and wellbeing company.as it has an ambition to generate $1bn of net revenues from beyond nicotine era products by 2025.

 Last year net revenues were $76billin. Vectura shares rose 13 per cent to 153.4p

Vectura’s inhalers are for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or smoker’s lungs one of the many diseases caused by tobacco which the World Health Organisation says kills more than eight million people a year.