Philip Morris's Vectura Acquisition Causes Uproar

The acquisition of the British laboratory Vectura by Philip Morris International (PMI) was only concluded on August 12th at the cost of a bidding war and a strong controversy with public health stakeholders.

The financial battle for the acquisition of the Vectura laboratory began in May 2021 with a proposal from the American investment fund Carlyle. Philip Morris had raised the stakes on July 9 with an offer of 948 million pounds, to which Carlyle had made a counter-offer. It was finally PMI that won on August 12 by paying 1.1 billion pounds (1.3 billion euros) to acquire a pharmaceutical flagship for respiratory diseases. Vectura shareholders nevertheless have sixty days to ratify this decision.

Public health at risk

A specialist in the treatment of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and respiratory diseases, Vectura produces pharmaceutical treatments and inhalers for asthma. A partnership with the British company Inspira should soon lead it to present a new inhaled drug against COVID-19[1]The acquisition of Vectura thus not only allows Philip Morris to continue its establishment in the medical sector after the acquisition of Fertin Pharma[2], but also puts the multinational in a situation where it will sell both billions of cigarettes and the medical tools to treat the diseases caused by smoking.

This antinomy has caused a strong reaction from health professionals across the Channel, who consider this acquisition to be a public health scandal. At the end of July, the University of Nottingham warned its partner Vectura against the academic consequences of its acquisition, considering, like Imperial College London, King's College London or University College London, that its charter could not accept conducting research in collaboration with representatives of the tobacco industry.[3]The merger with PMI could thus deprive Vectura of research funds, but also of scientific publications and conferences, which risks seriously harming the reputation of this company.

A coalition of national and international associations (British Lung Foundation, Action for Smoking and Health, American Lung Association) asked the British government to prevent the transaction in the name of compliance with Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), ratified by the United Kingdom in 2004. Until the last minute, this coalition tried to influence the decision of the board of directors by inviting it to make "the right ethical choice", before the latter unanimously decided on August 12 in favor of PMI for strictly financial reasons.[4].

What lessons can be learned from the acquisition of Vectura?

The acquisition of Vectura poses many problems, both ethical, by playing the profit card on all fronts, diplomatic, by contravening Article 5.3 of the FCTC, but also financial, by placing certain investment funds in a delicate situation. Investment funds offering ethical equity funds will thus have difficulty in retaining their shares in Vectura. The presence of a cigarette manufacturer among its directors could thus cost Vectura dearly, whose share price has recently inflated by 30%.

Efforts by Vectura and PMI executives to try to convince people that Vectura will remain "independent" and will be an "autonomous unit" have not reassured anyone, as the tobacco industry is no stranger to misinformation and broken promises. “Buying a medical company, or even several, does not make an SME a healthcare player”, stressed the STOP organization in commenting on the acquisition of Vectura. The apparently proactive discourse held by PMI and its Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, calling for a "ban on tobacco" and to act as a contact on health issues, is thus constantly contradicted by the facts: while it is developing colossal efforts to sell its heated/grilled tobacco products in Western countries, PMI is at the same time negotiating its license to build a new cigarette factory in Egypt[5].

This blatant contradiction should instead encourage States to take the cigarette manufacturers at their word and to more clearly initiate policies aimed at rapidly banning smoked tobacco, without waiting until 2035, rather than only considering it once the transition to other, supposedly less harmful, tobacco products has been made. The tobacco industry's considerable financial resources could be devoted to involving it more, under the polluter-pays principle and extended producer responsibility, in repairing the health and environmental damage it causes.

Keywords: Vectura, Fertin Pharma, PMI, FCTC

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[1] PL/AFP, BFM Business, Philip Morris acquires medical inhaler specialist Vectura, published on August 13, 2021, (accessed August 16, 2021).

[2] Tobacco Free Generation, Philip Morris acquires nicotine replacement specialist Fertin Pharma, published on July 5, 2021, (accessed July 23, 2021)

[3] Boland H, The Telegraph, Vectura risks university research block after Philip Morris takeover, published on 1^er August 2021, (accessed August 16, 2021)

[4] Kollewe J, Neate R, The Guardian, Vectura board unanimously accepts Philip Morris's controversial takeover bid, pPublished on August 12, 2021, (accessed August 16, 2021)

[5] STOP, The World's Biggest Tobacco Company Has No Business in Health, published on August 13, 2021, (accessed August 16, 2021)

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