BUFFALO, New York, May 16, 2022 - PRESS RELEASE - 22nd Century Group., an agricultural biotechnology company dedicated to improving human health with reduced nicotine tobacco, hemp/cannabis and hops advanced plant technology, announced the acquisition of privately held GVB Biopharma. As a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), GVB is one of the largest providers of hemp-derived active ingredients for the pharmaceutical and consumer goods industries worldwide based on total tonnage.

GVB's strengths compliment 22nd Century's existing upstream and downstream value chains, which include expertise in cannabinoid receptor science with CannaMetrix, plant research and proprietary genetics through its KeyGene partnership, breeding expertise with Extractas and cultivation capabilities at Needle Rock Farms. The combination with 22nd Century establishes a global asset to serve the rapidly growing hemp/cannabis ingredient market.

"GVB represents a transformational acquisition for 22nd Century that will enable us to rapidly grow our hemp/cannabis franchise," said James A. Mish, 22nd Century Group CEO. "GVB is one of the largest CBD suppliers globally, possessing innovative, vertically integrated cannabinoid product manufacturing technologies driving industry-leading scale and cost-efficiency. In addition to immediately expanding our hemp/cannabis franchise capabilities, GVB represents an opportunity to double our revenue and internalize a comprehensive contract manufacturing and extraction platform which can be used to directly and exclusively monetize our differentiated and proprietary hemp/cannabis plant genetics and intellectual property. We are enthusiastic to begin working with the highly regarded and very experienced management team at GVB."

"We are excited to combine with 22nd Century group, pairing our production and manufacturing capabilities together with the best hemp/cannabis plant science in the world," said Phillip Swindells, GVB CEO. "Since 2017, we have built a loyal customer base and continue to add new, rapidly growing customers as demand in our industry accelerates. We sold more than five billion doses of CBD in 2021, and we look forward to further scaling our business as a part of 22nd Century's comprehensive platform."

GVB is an operator with an estimated 15% share of the hemp-derived active ingredients market. The company is also a supplier to CBD and cannabinoid brands Cookies, Nuleaf and Canaxis Pharma. GVB's formulation capabilities and GMP-certified facilities are uniquely suited to manufacture vastly improved pharmaceutical and consumer goods products that leverage and monetize 22nd Century's proprietary plant genetics and research capabilities.

GVB is also well-positioned to lead international expansion, including multiple joint ventures in Europe to co-develop and co-own processing and distribution companies aligned to market needs. GVB currently has offices in the United Kingdom and Brussels.

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