Philip Morris International wins case: IQOS research findings were not misleading

According to Bloomberg Law, a U.S. appeals court dismissed a securities fraud class action lawsuit against Philip Morris International on December 26.

Investors accused the tobacco manufacturer of misleading them regarding the clinical research methods and results of IQOS submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Philip Morris sought approval for its former parent company, Altria Group, to sell the device in the U.S.

Investors also alleged that the company made misleading statements about the expected sales of IQOS in Japan, which was the only country where Philip Morris sold the product line nationwide.

The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that statements made by Philip Morris and its executives describing the IQOS research as "rigorous," "best science," and "very advanced" were non-actionable puffery. The court rejected the investors' argument that these statements could be proven true or false.

Meanwhile, the court ruled that optimistic statements about sales performance in Japan were permissible forward-looking statements.