CLARENCE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE MKT:XXII), a plant biotechnology company that is a leader in tobacco harm reduction, announced that the Company closed today a registered direct stock offering with one existing institutional investor and one new institutional investor and received approximately $11.4 million in gross proceeds through the sale of units priced at $1.3425 per unit, which is $0.0625 per share above the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the NYSE MKT on October 13, 2016, the date immediately prior to the signing of the stock purchase agreement. The transaction included a total of 8,500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock and 66-month warrants to purchase 4,250,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.45 per share (exercisable after six months). The net proceeds of the financing will be used for general corporate purposes, including working capital.

Chardan Capital Markets, LLC acted as the sole placement agent for this transaction.

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. Visitwww.xxiicentury.com for more information.