CLARENCE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE MKT: XXII), a leader in tobacco harm reduction and cannabis research, announced today that the Company will present at the LD Micro Invitational Investor Conference at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel, 11461 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, on Wednesday, December 7, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. EST.

Henry Sicignano, III, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Paul Rushton, Vice President of Plant Biotechnology, will provide investor attendees with a business update and will highlight 22nd Century’s advances in the rapidly evolving legal medical marijuana and industrial hemp markets. Headlining the presentation will be Dr. Rushton’s discussion of the Company’s proprietary cannabis initiatives, including the development of THC-free industrial hemp varieties and the propagation of medical marijuana strains that are selected for increased levels of medically-important cannabinoids, such as CBC and CBD. Both Mr. Sicignano and Dr. Rushton will be available for one-on-one meetings at the conference.

Dr. Rushton explained, “We are delighted that our research and development is opening exciting new paths to medically-important and industrially-important products. We are developing new medical marijuana as well as industrial hemp varieties with substantially altered levels of cannabinoids, all of which will be below the legal limit of 0.3% THC. We aim to become major suppliers of proprietary plants for both legal medical marijuana and industrial hemp cultivation, which are projected to be multi-billion dollar markets in the near term. The Company is actively filing provisional patents in these fields. We are also expanding our activities in an increasing number of pilot hemp projects with research universities possessing all necessary federal and state licenses and permits. These are exciting times indeed.”

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 cannabis plants through genetic engineering and plant breeding. The Company’s primary mission is to reduce the harm caused by smoking. 22nd Century currently owns or exclusively controls more than 200 issued patents and more than 50 pending patent applications around the world. For more information, visit www.xxiicentury.com and www.botanicalgenetics.com.

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, 2015, filed on February 18, 2016, 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.

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