NJOY ACE products may face import ban, Altria seeks final ruling from ITC

NJOY ACE products may face import ban, Altria seeks final ruling from ITC

In the patent infringement lawsuit filed by JUUL Labs, the administrative law judge issued a notice supporting JUUL's allegations in the lawsuit and recommending an exclusion order to ban the import of NJOY ACE products into the United States. In response, Altria and NJOY expressed respect but disagreement with this preliminary ruling.

On August 27, Altria Group and its operating company NJOY responded to the preliminary ruling of the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) of the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) regarding the patent infringement lawsuit filed by JUUL Labs (JUUL).

It is reported that last week the administrative law judge issued a notice supporting JUUL's allegations in the lawsuit and recommended an exclusion order to ban the import of NJOY ACE products into the United States.

Altria and NJOY expressed respect but disagreement with this preliminary ruling, and NJOY looks forward to presenting its position to the full ITC committee, which is expected to make a final decision on December 23 this year.

In August this year, NJOY filed a similar and independent patent infringement lawsuit with the ITC, seeking to ban the import and sale of JUUL products in the United States. The hearing for the case was held in June 2024, and the preliminary ruling is expected to be issued at the end of September this year. It is worth noting that even if a favorable ruling is obtained this time, it will not prevent the exclusion order for ACE products from taking effect.

At present, the parties have attempted mediation through a mediator, and Altria said it would work hard to resolve the issue.

In addition, NJOY recently submitted a substantial equivalence (SE) exemption request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow it to sell ACE products with minor modifications. The company believes that these modifications can avoid three of the four JUUL patents involved in this case.

It is worth noting that ACE is the first cartridge-based electronic atomization product and the only menthol cartridge electronic atomization product approved by the FDA and suitable for protecting public health.