Category: relx

Recently, the clinical research on the safety of e-cigarettes initiated by RELX (RLX.US) has been successfully registered in the China Clinical Trials Registry (ChiCTR), the first-level institution of the World Health Organization’s international clinical trial registration platform.

It is reported that this is China’s first clinical research focusing on “e-cigarette safety” and the second clinical research project initiated by RELX. In March 2021, RELX successfully applied for China’s first clinical study on electronic cigarettes, exploring the effects of the use of electronic cigarettes and cigarettes on human biomarkers in healthy smoking subjects. At present, the study has been successfully completed, and the results will be released within the year.

Different from previous studies focusing on “nicotine metabolism”, this study focuses on the safety of e-cigarettes, using the subjects’ respiratory function and cardiovascular function as the main indicators to try to find out whether e-cigarettes have acute effects. This research was undertaken by Sun Yat-Sen University-RELX Atomization Product Evaluation Laboratory, which is the first full-process research platform covering non-clinical to clinical research stages in the field of atomization science in China.

The project leader, Professor Zhong Guoping, deputy director of the Sun Yat-Sen University-RELX Atomization Product Evaluation Laboratory, introduced that the study plans to recruit 36 ​​healthy subjects with a smoking habit, and randomly group them to observe the effects of different products on the subjects’ respiratory function, heart rate and heart rate. Short-term effects on vascular function. Clinical research is usually used in the development of new drugs to evaluate the safety and efficacy of drugs by conducting trials on subjects. Previously, RELX has confirmed the safety of related products through a large number of physicochemical, cellular and animal studies. With the deepening of global e-cigarette research into clinical research, RELX took the lead in launching relevant clinical research projects in China to further verify the safety of e-cigarettes.

At present, the scientific research system of electronic cigarettes in China is not perfect. As the e-cigarette industry is brought into the track of legalization and standardization, ensuring quality and safety, strengthening basic research on atomization science, and safeguarding the interests of consumers have become a must for the healthy development of the industry. According to reports, since 2020, RELX has adopted the “1+4” scientific research path to conduct systematic and scientific evaluation of electronic cigarettes through “safe quality + physical and chemical research, toxicology research, clinical research, and long-term impact research”.

“Since its establishment, RELX has regarded product quality and science as the cornerstone of its development,” said Wen Yilong, co-founder of RELX and head of R&D and supply chain. “As China’s first systematic research using modern medicine, toxicology and other methods, RELX will continue to invest in scientific research to drive the standardized development of the industry.”

At present, RELX has a number of professional laboratories such as physical and chemical laboratories and life science laboratories; it has established cooperation in different dimensions with 8 universities, 2 hospitals, and 10 scientific research and commissioned research institutions. In 2021, RELX published the first SCI paper in China’s electronic cigarette industry, providing a basis for the inhalation safety of the cooling agent WS-23.

Recently, with the assistance of RELX, the Shenzhen police in Guangdong, China successfully cracked a gang involving the sale of counterfeit RELX vape with a value of more than 800,000 yuan.

On December 9, after preliminary investigations and judgments, the Food, Drug and Environmental Investigation Detachment of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau, the Public Security Section of the Futian Sub-bureau, and the Huaqiangbei Police Station of the Futian Sub-bureau launched a unified operation to attack the four Nijia Electronics outlets involved in the case. At the shop of Nijia Electronics located in an electronic accessories market in Huaqiangbei, Shenzhen, the police seized a large number of counterfeit Relx vapes, and arrested 5 suspects including Shen, the person in charge of the store, on the spot. In this operation, a total of 910 sets of counterfeit starter kits and 6090 boxes of vape cartridges were seized in Nijia Electronics’ shops and warehouses. In addition to selling in stores, the counterfeit gang also conducts onlines sales through on platforms such as WeChat.

It is understood that before being seized by the police, Nijia Electronics and the counterfeiting gang were administratively punished for selling counterfeit RELX vapes. However, the gang did not stop in time. Instead, they continued to sell fakes in a more concealed manner. They adopted methods such as changing shop signs and switching to online sales, which greatly increased the difficulty of law enforcement. After receiving the report, the relevant law enforcement agencies made repeated arrangements and deployed controls, and finally succeeded in destroying the counterfeit sales den in this operation.

In recent years, some counterfeit products that are shoddy and of worrying quality have seriously affected the order of the e-cigarette market and the lives of consumers. Since 2019, RELX has launched the Golden Shield Operation to assist relevant law enforcement agencies in cracking down on counterfeiting dens and sales channels, and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. As of December 2021, the Rescue Golden Shield Operation has initiated 46 criminal cases against counterfeiting, 6 civil cases, and 52 administrative cases, involving a total amount of more than 83 million yuan.

The person in charge of the RELX Golden Shield operation stated that in the past work, RELX found that the products sold by these counterfeit dens often came from the uncertificated small workshops, and then sold through some offline counterfeit outlets and Wechat business featuring its low price.

However, the production environment of these small workshops is harsh, there is no quality testing equipment, the products with formaldehyde, benzene series and other carcinogens seriously exceed the standard, and there are major safety hazards such as battery explosion, which seriously threatens the safety of consumers. “The counterfeiters in the small workshop do not wear gloves and masks during the operation, and no disinfection, no dust prevention, and no epidemic prevention measures are were taken.” The person in charge of the RELX Golden Shield operation reminded consumers to choose regular sales channels and lines and purchase RELX products in authorized stores.

RELX vape (Wuxin Technology) announced on the evening of December 8 that the board of directors authorized a stock repurchase plan under which the company can repurchase up to US$500 million (equivalent to RMB 3.17 billion) stocks. Affected by this news, the stock price of Wuxin Technology had risen nearly 22%.

Wuxin Technology stated that the repurchase proposed by the company may be carried out in the open market from time to time at the current market price, privately negotiated transactions, block transactions and/or through other methods permitted by law in accordance with market conditions and applicable rules and regulations. The company’s board of directors will periodically review the stock repurchase plan and may authorize adjustments to its terms and scale. The company hopes to fund the repurchase from its existing cash balance.

RELX International launched its company-wide initiative, RELX Pledge, at an exclusive digital event attended by members of the press from around the world. The three-pronged initiative is grounded on the protection of minors, consumers, and economic livelihoods.and is guided by three key pillars: Guardian Program, Golden Shield, and Green Shoots.

Speaking at the exclusive event, Leina Chedid, Head of Marketing for the Middle East and North Africa, discussed RELX International’s Guardian Program – a company-wide initiative that stretches from product development to sales, preventing and discouraging the use of vape products by minors through joint efforts with retailers to step up on-site identification.

“Since our inception, youth prevention has been an integral part of RELX International’s core company values,” said Chedid. “Our Guardian Program applies across all our sales and marketing and supports effective legislation and regulation to prevent the purchase and use of our products by minors,” she added.

Meanwhile, RELX International’s Global Head of External Affairs, Jonathan Ng, announced the steps the brand is taking to ensure that there are industry-wide efforts taken to prevent e-cigarette use among minors, including eradication of counterfeit products.

Its Golden Shield initiative, a partnership with a number of its stakeholders including engagement of customs officials, is designed to safeguard consumers by eliminating counterfeit, contraband, and compatibles from the e-cigarette market.

Said Ng, “RELX International ensures that its products are only manufactured to meet extremely high quality standards with stringent inspection controls. Unfortunately, there are many counterfeit RELX and other smuggled products of unknown content out there. We are working closely with investigation firms, e-commerce platforms and local authorities to weed out such products from the market.”

RELX’s Golden Shield has assisted in 28 successful cases, removing over 550,000 fake products from the market and over 77,000 websites since January 2020.The brand has worked with local authorities in China to seize counterfeit products, some of which are destined for the Philippines. In the Philippines, the company is also exploring working with the authorities to tackle illicit trade by sharing intelligence.

Ng also discussed RELX’s Green Shoots Program, an initiative created to give back to the community, using the brand’s experience to help other aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners get their businesses on track to business growth and success.

“Startups and small businesses are the economic backbone of societies around the world. As a company that grew from a startup ourselves, we understand the numerous challenges that small businesses encounter daily. Through the Green Shoots program, we hope to share our experience and knowledge to help them get on the right track towards growth and success,” he affirmed.

Under the Green Shoots program, the company is also set to unveil the RELX Academy, wherein RELX will sponsor courses curated by leading global universities on the edX platform to equip budding entrepreneurs with the skills to succeed in starting their own businesses.

The RELX Academy is currently in its pilot phase in the Philippines. Each regular Philippines franchisee receives support of up to PHP 300,000, with RELX International providing Academy participants with additional product support of up to PHP1.7M.

“The RELX Pledge is designed to help introduce a new era of responsibility and safety in the vaping industry” emphasized Ng.“We genuinely hope it will provide a better future for everyone, meaning that only genuine RELX products – all produced to the highest and safest standards – are used by adult vapers or adults looking for an alternative to smoking cigarettes”

“Protecting minors is an issue we take very seriously, as our Pledge commitment shows. We sincerely hope that others in the industry take this lead and also commit to this new era of responsibility.”

Components of the RELX Pledge will be rolled-out globally throughout 2021, and will be further enhanced in 2022. The RELX Pledge will be localized in countries in which RELX International holds a market presence to account for applicable local customs, cultures, and traditions.

Furthermore, the company will provide regular updates on the progress of the RELX Pledge initiative to ensure its strategic goals and objectives are being met. RELX International executives will be regularly measured on their performance on corporate and social responsibility metrics, of which the RELX Pledge will be a fundamental pillar.

For more information on the RELX Pledge, please visit: www.relxnow.com/pages/pledge.

• RIYADH, Saudi Arabia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–RELX, a premium vaping brand at the forefront of the e-cigarette evolution has now launched in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The e-cigarette brand is already available in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait – and has further plans to expand into the wider MENA region this year.
  

  “The MENA region is one of our category’s fastest growing markets, growing at a rate just short of 10% until 2024. Saudi Arabia is one of the region’s largest and most prosperous markets, hence the need for any brand to launch there if it wants to thrive and grow bigger.”

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  The Kingdom has announced new regulations, similar to those set across Europe, following the standard set up for e-cigarette packaging and labeling which was introduced in September 2020.

  What sets RELX International apart from other e-cigarette brands is its innovation, design and quality – all of which is underpinned with a strong ethical stance. RELX International conducts its business with integrity, working with its partners to ensure its goods are strictly for adult smokers and vapers only.

  RELX International products are designed at a cutting-edge research and development centre with extremely stringent inspection and rigorous quality control processes. It truly understands the needs of its adults consumers, and the products are designed to provide them with exceptional alternatives of the highest quality and the most satisfying user experience possible.

  Furthermore, it strictly forbids recommending, marketing or selling e-cigarettes to both non-smokers/ vapers and underage consumers and has numerous initiatives in place to promote youth prevention agenda among stakeholders, commercial and business partners.

  Fouad Barakat, KSA General Manager at RELX International, commented on the launch: “The MENA region is one of our category’s fastest growing markets, growing at a rate just short of 10% until 2024. Saudi Arabia is one of the region’s largest and most prosperous markets, hence the need for any brand to launch there if it wants to thrive and grow bigger.”

  Founded in 2019, RELX International products are designed at a cutting-edge research and development centre with extremely stringent inspection and rigorous quality control processes. It truly understands the needs of its adult consumers and the products are designed to provide them with exceptional alternatives of the highest quality and the most satisfying user experience possible.

  After much research, Bing Du founded RELX International, which is now Asia and China’s leading e-cigarette brand with presence in Asia, the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Indonesia, among many other markets worldwide.

  Vaping nicotine is set to replace smoking over the next 10 years and could see 1.6 million premature deaths avoided and 20.8 million quality adjusted years of life saved in the United States alone.¹

  With wide product offerings based around a consumer centric design, plus a wide flavour pool for different regional preferences, based on market insights, RELX International will also be releasing new seasonal flavours developed on a regular basis.

  There are two products available:

  RELX Infinity

  The brand’s hero product, it comes with wireless charging and clicks into place with a built-in pogo pin all without wires. Its charging case slips easily into pockets (it is just 15mm in width) and delivers up to two to three full charges with its dual system in just 45 minutes time.

  Engineered to improve a variety of aspects of the vaping experience such as sufficient amounts of vapour, comfortable temperature, optimal mouthfeel and sensitive activation, it is also bolstered with metallic seals, maze-like leak traps and silicone layers and 11 structural layers in total to help prevent e-liquid leakages and condensation.

  RELX Nano2

  RELX nano2 is a sleek, disposable device which features a user-friendly design. RELX nano offers RELX’s quality and technology standards at the lowest price point. This device is perfect if you’re a first-time e-cigarette user or if you’re looking for a compact and discreet vape pen.

  For more information on RELX International please visit https://sa.relxnow.com

RELX is actively taking actions in cracking down on various vape brands that conduct infringement on RELX brand in China since June 2021.

On the one hand, RELX has recently won two lawsuits against similar trademarks.  The two infringing trademarks are REIX and RELOOX.

The decision of Shenzhen Wuxin Technology Co., Ltd. to object to RELX’s similar trademarks announced by the State Intellectual Property Office showed that the result of the judgment was that both REIX and RELOOX constitute similar trademarks to RELX, and both were disallowed to be registered.

The State Intellectual Property Office determined that the registration of the disputed trademarks REIX and RELOOX belonged to similar products and constituted similar trademarks, and could easily cause confusion among consumers. Their application damaged RELX’s prior trademark rights and interests, so RELX’s trademark right claim was protected by the Property Office. While REIX and RELOOX constitute similar RELX trademarks, they’re not allowed to be registered.

On the other hand, RELX has started a litigation battle against three vape brands that produce RELX compatible cartridges. These 3 infringing brands include SP2S, VEEX and MAX.

The SP2S operating company was fined 200,000 yuan by the Shenzhen Market Regulation and Administration Bureau in May this year. The basis for the punishment shows that it may be suspected of illegally publishing advertisements.

From the information that has been disclosed so far, RELX has launched this year’s encirclement and suppression of RELX compatible cartridge vape brands. This is not the first time that RELX has sued a compatible vape brand for trademark infringement.

On June 16, VEEX, another RELX compatible cartridge brand, was sued by RELX for alleged unfair competition. RELX suing VEEX has not yet undergone a formal trial because VEEX filed a jurisdictional objection.

On July 2, RELX sued MAX in Hangzhou, claiming that it infringed its patent rights.

RELX vape is getting more and more popular in China, owing to the following 4 factors.

First, high repurchase rate;

It is reported that RELX’s cartridges have the advantages of a large number of new and fast consuming speeds, which attract more consumers’ attention. In addition, the different series of RELX cartridges are not compatible, which ultimately makes RELX cartridges a very high repurchase rate.

 

Second, follow the market trend;

It is reported that e-cigarettes are an innovative electronic consumer product because it comes with high repurchase rate and convenient e-liquid and pod replacement. The current e-cigarettes on the market are mainly rechargeable.

RELX follows the market trend and takes the reloadable electronic cigarette as the key direction of its products, which also makes RELX more popular among merchants and consumers.

Third, be close to the needs of consumers;

Since its establishment, RELX has been continuously deepening scientific research, improving technology and product development.

It is reported that RELX has successively launched a variety of e-cigarettes such as RELX Classic, REXL Alpha, and Relx, each of which has at least a dozen flavors, which can meet the needs of different consumers. At the same time, the product prices of RELX electronic cigarettes also cover different price ranges.

 

Fourth, strong retail network;

In addition to products, RELX’s retail network is also very powerful. At present, the number of offline stores in China has exceeded 4,500, covering 310 cities. In addition, RELX’s offline network is still accelerating its expansion. In addition, as of 2020, RELX has 110 dealers.

It is precisely under the superposition of the above multiple factors, RELX Technology maintains its fierce development momentum, while still facing the threat of industry regulation.

29 March, 2021—RLX Technology(RELX)’s latest peer-reviewed study published in Journal of Applied Toxicology showed the cooling agent WS-23 widely used in e-cigarette has limited impact on the experiment animals at the tested dose.

The study showed that there were no deaths in any of WS-23 treated groups in the acute and subacute inhalation studies, with no remarkable changes occurred in body weight, organ weight, hematology, and serum biochemistry, and no toxic effects in the histopathologic analysis.

It was the first study published on the Science Citation Index (SCI) indexed journal conducted by Chinese e-cigarette industry.

WS-23 is a well-known artificial synthesis cooling agent widely used in foods, medicines and tobaccos. As a commonly cooling agent in e-cigarette liquids, WS-23 has led to concerns about the inhalation toxicity with the prosperous of e-cigarettes in recent years. The study shows that at the tested dose level, inhalation of WS-23 will not bring toxic side effect to test animals.

“Product safety has always been RLX’s top concern, and it is also the direction and commitment in our research and development,” Xingtao Jiang, head of RELX Lab. Before the study was published, RELX Lab has conducted vitro tests to prove the aerosol containing WS-23 is safe to use in the products. The latest assessment has further discovered the inhalation toxicity of WS-23 used in the product. Jiang said RLX will continue to conduct more studies to improve RELX products’ quality.

The study was led by RLX science team and part of the experiment were conducted in its physiochemical lab.

In the experiment, Specific-pathogen-free (SPF) SD rats were used to inhale the diluted aerosols of WS-23 with different concentrations and blank solvent by a nose-only exposure system, taking clean air as the control group. After the administration period and the recovery period, the researchers evaluated the acute and subacute inhalation toxicity of the cooling agent WS-23 by comparing key indicators with control groups.

In the acute inhalation study, the appearance, behavioral activities, feed intaking and excreta of all rats seemed to be no obvious abnormalities in the recovery period. In the subacute inhalation toxicity study, there was no significant difference observed in the body weights, feed consumption and relative organ weights. Hematological, serum biochemical, urine and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid analysis also revealed the non-adverse effects after 28-day repeated WS-23 inhalation.

In conclusion, the maximum tolerated dose for WS-23 acute inhalation is not less than 340 mg/m³ , and the No Observed Adverse Effect Level (NOAEL) of WS-23 subacute inhalation was determined to be over 342.85 mg/m³ .

In September 2020, RLX has announced its plan to conduct strict product quality study, physiochemical study, pathological, clinical study and the evaluation of long-term use of e-cigarette. The WS-23 study was the first publicly published scientific achievement.

CONTACTS

Aimee Ren

aimee.ren@relxtech.com

On March 24, the scientific team of WuxinTechnology (RELX) published a scientific paper in the global toxicology SCI journal Journal of Applied Toxicology, pointing out that no experimental animals were found to be related to the cooling agent WS-23 Changes in physiological, biochemical and pathological indicators have verified the inhalation safety of the cooling ingredient under the test dosage conditions.

Cooling agent WS-23 is an additive widely used in food, beverage, medicine, electronic atomization and other fields. Previously, research on it has focused on the field of oral use. This study proved for the first time that at the test dose, the aerosolized inhalation cooling agent WS-23 will not bring toxic side effects to experimental animals.

According to reports, this research fills the gap in global toxicology research and is the first time that China’s vape industry has published a paper in an SCI journal (Science Citation Index, Science Citation Index).

Jiang Xingtao, head of the Wuxin Technology Laboratory, said: “Product quality and safety is the biggest concern of Wuxin Technology, and it is also our constant direction and commitment in technology development and scientific research.” Previously, Wuxin Technology Laboratory passed in vitro toxicity tests. The safety of products containing cooling agent WS-23 was verified. This study further explored the inhalation toxicity of specific ingredients. Jiang Xingtao said that in the future, relevant research will be continued to improve the safety standards of RELX’s products and protect the rights and interests of consumers.

The research was led by the Wuxin Tech scientific team, and part of the experiment was completed in its physical and chemical laboratory. In the experiment, rats used a special oral and nasal exposure system to inhale and administer solvents and blank solvents in groups, and clean air was used as a blank control group. After the administration period and the recovery period, the researchers evaluated the acute and subacute inhalation toxicity of the cooling agent WS-23 by comparing key indicators.

The acute inhalation toxicity assessment showed that during the administration period and the subsequent 14-day observation period, rats exposed to the limit test dose level (340 mg/m3) had no signs of poisoning; the subacute inhalation toxicity assessment showed that the dose was given on 28 days. During the drug period and the subsequent 28-day recovery period, there were no statistically significant differences in the weight, food intake, organ weight and other data of rats in different groups. Blood, urine, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, histopathology, etc. were examined None showed abnormal changes related to the test substance.

“Studies have confirmed that the maximum tolerated dose for acute inhalation of cooling agent WS-23 in rats is not less than 340 mg/m3, and the NOAEL dose for subacute inhalation is higher than 342.85 mg/m3. After conversion, the safe dosage is much higher than the actual dosage in the RELX electronic atomizer.

This paper is one of the latest achievements of Wuxin Tech’s “1+4” scientific research path. In September 2020, Wuxin Tech announced that it will advance the scientific exploration of electronic atomization through strict product quality + physical and chemical research, toxicological research, clinical research, and long-term impact assessment. This paper is the first publicly published scientific research result in the field of “toxicology research”.

According to reports, Wuxin Tech is advancing a number of basic scientific research work such as the construction of an electronic atomization risk assessment system and clinical safety research. The specific results will be announced in the future.