NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Philip Morris International Inc. (“Philip Morris” or the “Company”) (NYSE:PM) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, for the District of New Jersey, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Philip Morris securities, seeking to recover compensable damages caused by defendants’ violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If you are a shareholder who purchased Philip Morris securities between July 26, 2016, and December 20, 2017, both dates inclusive, you have until February 20, 2018, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.

[Click here to join this class action]

Philip Morris is a Virginia corporation with its principal executive offices located at 120 Park Avenue, New York, New York. Philip Morris, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cigarettes, other tobacco products, and other nicotine containing products.

Philip Morris is currently developing a portfolio of Reduced-Risk Products (“RRP). RRP does not burn tobacco and produces significantly lower levels of harmful or potentially harmful compounds than found in smoke. Phillip Morris has four RRP platforms in various stages of development and commercialization readiness. Platform 1 uses a precisely controlled heating device that Philip Morris is commercializing under the IQOS brand name, into which a specially designed and proprietary consumable tobacco product (“IQOS Consumables”) is inserted and heated to generate an aerosol

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) there were irregularities in the clinical experiments that underpin Philip Morris' application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for approval of its iQOS smoking device; and (2) as a result, defendants' statements about Philip Morris' business, operations and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

On December 20, 2017, Reuters published a report stating that “[f]ormer employees and contractors [of Phillip Morris] have detailed irregularities in the clinical experiments that underpin Philip Morris International’s application to the FDA for approval of its iQOS smoking device,”.

On this news, shares of Philip Morris fell $3.75 per share or approximately 3.5% from its previous closing price to close at $104.37 per share on December 20, 2017, damaging investors.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com

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