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Juul Hires Regulatory Science Executive With Health Roots

Juul Hires Regulatory Science Executive With Health Roots

(Bloomberg) -- Juul Labs Inc. hired a veteran health-care executive to help steer the e-cigarette maker’s scientific research, as it prepares to seek a critical authorization from federal regulators.

Snigdha Mishra was named senior vice president of regulatory science, the company said. Mishra, who started Monday, will report to Joe Murillo, Juul’s chief regulatory officer. In the post, Mishra will lead the teams studying Juul’s vaping products. She will also be responsible for integrating the science into the company’s global product development and commercialization efforts.

“We are continuing to develop rigorous scientific research as we work to reset the vapor category and earn the trust of regulators and the scientific community across the world,” Juul spokesman Austin Finan said in a statement.

Mishra, 49, joined Juul from the medical-device maker Abbott Laboratories, where she served as divisional vice president of scientific and medical affairs at Abbott Nutrition. She previously worked at consumer-health company Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, as well as pharmaceutical giants Pfizer Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline Plc.

Juul is trying to bolster its credibility with regulators and the scientific community after being blamed for helping set off a teen vaping epidemic in the U.S. The company has said it never marketed directly to minors, and it removed its flavored products from the marketplace following concerns that they appeal to children.

Regulators around the world are re-examining vaping products. India banned e-cigarettes last year before Juul could launch its products in the country. Juul was pulled off the Chinese market just days after being introduced.

The San Francisco-based company plans to submit data to the Food and Drug Administration on the health effects of using its e-cigarettes as part of its application to keep its vaping products on the market in the U.S. All e-cigarette companies are required to apply this year to keep selling their products.

A number of Juul’s science executives have recently departed, though the company has been hiring more regulatory and science-focused employees.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.