TOBACCO INTERNATIONAL

MARCH 2016 TOBACCO INTERNATIONAL 27 try. Since then, she has completed an MSc in envi- ronmental toxi- cology and pollu- tion monitoring. F i o n a ' s r e c e n t focus has been the prioritization of tobacco smoke tox- icants with the use of several in silico techniques, and she has become one of the leading experts in this field within the tobacco industry. "We have for several years been using computational toxicology to try and pri- oritize toxicants found in tobacco smoke. Although aerosols from next generation products have fewer chemicals, there are still some toxicants present. As this is the case, improved understanding of the role and dose–response relationships between toxicants in aerosols and smoke from our products and tobacco-related diseases will help us focus the development of technologies for reducing the levels of those toxicants." • Aerosol Science • Understanding Consumer Product Interaction John McAughey, Principal (Aerosol) Scientist M c A u g h e y i s a w o r l d - l e a d i n g aerosol scientist with more than 30 years of expe- rience. Early in his career, at AEA Technology, he re- searched and published in multiple fields of aerosol science, including tobacco smoke science, particulate air pollution, automotive emissions, pharmaceutical inhalers, radiation dosimetry and oc- cupational medicine. He advocates ef- fective science communication and has previously served on a number of UK Government scientific committees. "The size of particles in tobacco smoke and the partition of individual chemical components between particles and the vapor change constantly. Several chemicals have been identified by regu- lators and scientists as being likely 'key toxicants' that potentially influence dis- ease risk owing to their observed biolog- ical actions in humans. It is important to identify the doses of smoke components, individually and in whole smoke, that are delivered to specific tissues and organs. Focusing mainly on the lungs, we assess the location of deposition, concentration, duration of exposure and mechanisms of removal. This characterization is even more important with novel products, the aerosols of which might be quite differ- ent from cigarette smoke." • A Scientific Framework to Assess Next Generation Products Dr. James Murphy, Head of Reduced Risk Substantiation D r . M u r p h y holds a PhD in p o l y m e r c h e m - istry. He joined B A T i n 2 0 0 5 after postdoctor- al research at the N a r a I n s t i t u t e of Science & Technology in Japan where he worked developing novel polymer-based drug delivery systems. Having held a variety of roles in R&D, including leading the development and assessment of a reduced toxicant pro- totype cigarette, as well as development and commercialization of Vype e-ciga- rettes, Dr. Murphy now heads up BAT's Reduced Risk Substantiation unit, over- seeing preclinical and clinical research programs. His group is working on re- search methodologies to substantiate the reduced-risk potential of next-gen- eration products "In addition to the FDA's proposed regulatory assessment framework, a recent publication from the Tobacco P r o d u c t A s s e s s m e n t C o n s o r t i u m (TobPRAC) presented a four-stage model inclusive of: pre-market evalua- tion; pre-claims evaluation; post-mar- ket activities; and monitoring and re-evaluation. Their framework high- lighted key tests and reference products that would be required to demonstrate reduction in risk and product stability by chemical, toxicological and human studies at the individual and population levels. Our approach builds on those proposals and sets out an integrated framework using pre-clinical, clinical and population studies to assess the risk reduction potential of novel to- bacco and nicotine products, including electronic cigarettes, at the individual and population level. The key elements of the pre-clinical phase include the demonstration of the stability of the product and the toxicology of the emis- sions of the product." • Science Engagement • Our Open Approach Sarah Cooney, Head of Scientific Collaboration and Communication S a r a h o v e r s e e s BAT R&D's ex- ternal scientific e n g a g e m e n t s t r a t e g y . S h e joined us in 2010 w i t h o v e r 1 0 years' experience in science publishing, ranging from edi- torial and production through to edito- rial director and new journal and web development. She holds an MSc in agri- cultural biotechnology, and her re- search has been published in Science and Genetics. Sarah has held positions at most of the world's leading publish- e r s , i n c l u d i n g N a t u r e P u b l i s h i n g Group, Elsevier, BioMed Central and Springer. She also managed the pub- lishing program of the Society of Chemical Industry in collaboration with Wiley-Blackwell.

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