When Moira Gilchrist was first approached by Philip Morris International Inc., she wondered what a tobacco company wanted from a scientist who had previously worked on clinical trials for anti-cancer drugs.
The world’s largest cigarette maker was looking at ways of delivering nicotine in a product that reduced the harmful chemicals in smoking, and needed her expertise in navigating the highly regulated pharmaceutical industry.
Gilchrist, a cigarette smoker at the time, made the leap in 2006 — to the shock of friends and colleagues — becoming one of the first people from the pharma sector to join Big Tobacco, viewed by many as the enemy of health.
“I thought, if they can get this right, this could be a solution for me personally, but also for everyone else on the planet who, like me, light up cigarettes despite knowing the risks,” Gilchrist said.
Fifteen years later, Philip Morris, whose brands include Marlboro and Chesterfield, generates a quarter of its $28 billion in net sales from smoke-free products, and aims to boost that share to more than half by 2025. IQOS, the device Gilchrist helped develop, created an entirely new business line for the tobacco industry, prompting rivals like British American Tobacco Plc and Imperial Brands Plc to scramble to keep up.
SISSINFO.CH – 2021-07-21.
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