22nd Century Announces Exclusive Worldwide Agreement with KeyGene for Genetic Development of Hemp/Cannabis

Strategic collaboration will bolster 22nd Century’s position as a
global leader in hemp/cannabis genetics.

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE American: XXII),
a plant biotechnology company that is a leader in tobacco harm
reduction, Very Low Nicotine Content tobacco, and hemp/cannabis
research, announced today that the Company has entered into a worldwide
strategic research and development agreement with KeyGene, www.keygene.com,
a global leader in plant research involving high-value genetic traits
and increased crop yields. This exclusive, worldwide collaboration will
focus on developing hemp/cannabis plants with exceptional cannabinoid
profiles for medical and therapeutic use among other applications.

Cannabinoids are naturally occurring compounds found in hemp and in
cannabis that have been linked to a number of potential medical
benefits. The mix, concentration, and characteristics of these
cannabinoids vary widely and can be optimized through molecular breeding
and other modern crop improvement technologies that have been utilized
extensively in other crops, but which have been utilized rarely in hemp
and cannabis varieties.

The 22nd Century-KeyGene collaboration provides 22nd Century access to a
unique suite of crop innovation platforms, including genomics, molecular
genetics, trait discovery and breeding technologies. Under the
agreement, 22nd Century will hold exclusive worldwide rights to all
hemp/cannabis plant lines, intellectual property on metabolic traits,
and research results that are developed through this strategic
partnership. The focus of the collaboration will include:

(i) Creating a cutting-edge genetic database which utilizes the results
of genomic analyses of several hundred existing, exceptional
hemp/cannabis plant lines for use in the acceleration of the Company’s
development and licensing of uniquely characterized and improved
hemp/cannabis plants;

(ii) Enhancing genetic variation to empower 22nd Century’s development
of new and significantly improved varieties of hemp/cannabis plant lines
and varieties with highly desirable cannabinoid profiles optimized for
medicinal or therapeutic applications;

(iii) Creating a proprietary and industry-leading high-resolution
“molecular genetic map” of the entire cannabis plant genome to
facilitate rapid, cost-effective breeding of innovative varieties of
hemp/cannabis plants with distinctive agronomic traits;

(iv) Analyzing the genomic sequences of multiple species of the
hemp/cannabis plant and identifying shared genetic markers, allowing
22nd Century to develop improved commercial hemp/cannabis plant lines
more rapidly than through conventional plant breeding approaches; and

(v) Initiating the rapid-cycle generation of hemp/cannabis plant lines
with distinctive cannabinoid and terpene profiles to create elite lines.

“22nd Century’s exclusive global collaboration with KeyGene is expected
to yield truly remarkable and novel medicinal cannabinoid profiles and
other highly desirable agronomic traits,” explained Henry Sicignano III,
President and Chief Executive Officer of 22nd Century Group. “Combined
with 22nd Century’s existing hemp/cannabis technology, including our
existing proprietary hemp/cannabis plant lines, the KeyGene program will
bolster 22nd Century’s position as a global leader in hemp/cannabis
genetics and, we expect, will lead to significant commercialization
ventures and other opportunities.”

“22nd Century’s work with KeyGene will greatly enhance our Company’s
ability to utilize the cannabis genome and will enable us to accelerate
molecular breeding of new hemp/cannabis plant varieties,” said Dr. Juan
Tamburrino, 22nd Century’s Vice President of Research and Development.
“We believe our collaboration with KeyGene will generate proprietary
knowledge and will contribute greatly to our intellectual property and
patent portfolio.”

Work on the program will occur in multiple locations in the United
States and the Netherlands.

About 22nd Century Group, Inc.

22nd Century is a plant biotechnology company focused on technology
which allows it to increase or decrease the level of nicotine in tobacco
plants and the level of cannabinoids in hemp/cannabis plants through
genetic engineering and plant breeding. The Company’s primary mission in
tobacco is to reduce the harm caused by smoking. The Company’s primary
mission in hemp/cannabis is to develop proprietary hemp strains for
important new medicines and agricultural crops. Visit www.xxiicentury.com
and www.botanicalgenetics.com
for more information.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This
press release contains forward-looking information, including all
statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the
intent, belief or current expectations of 22nd Century Group, Inc., its
directors or its officers with respect to the contents of this press
release, including but not limited to our future revenue expectations.
The words “may,” “would,” “will,” “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate,”
“believe,” “intend” and similar expressions and variations thereof are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee
future results, levels of activity or performance. You should not place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as
of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should be
considered with any written or oral forward-looking statements that we
may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, including
the securities laws of the United States, we do not intend to update any
of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to reflect
actual results, later events or circumstances, or to reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events. You should carefully review and
consider the various disclosures made by us in our annual report on Form
10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, filed on March 6,
2019, including the section entitled “Risk Factors,” and our other
reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission which
attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may
affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash
flows. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if
the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary
materially from those expected or projected.

Contacts

22nd Century Group
James Vail, Director of Communications
716-270-1523
[email protected]