Syqe begins marketing medical cannabis inhaler

20 Jun, 2019 16:37

The new inhaler, which allows doctors to prescribe precise dosages, has received Ministry of Health approval in Israel.

Israeli pharma-tech company Syqe Medical today announced the launch of the world’s first pharmaceutical-grade metered-dose cannabis inhaler in Israel. The new inhaler allows doctors to prescribe precise dosages, which meeting pharmaceutical standards. Introduction of Syqe’s drug delivery device promotes Syqe’s aim of making medical cannabis a mainstream medical treatment.

The company has raised $83 million to date from investors including Philip Morris and OurCrowd.

Syqe’s inhaler, which is a non-combustion drug delivery device, has received regulatory approval from Israel’s Ministry of Health as a medical device combined with cannabis, and will be available for purchase by licensed patients in Israel. The devices will be marketed and distributed by Teva Israel. The cannabis in the Syqe inhaler is produced under controlled pharmaceutical conditions, complying with good manufacturing practices (GMP).

The inhaler is the fruit of eight years of R&D, and rigorous testing through clinical trials, including four years of paving a novel regulatory path. Syqe hopes that its Inhaler and supporting clinical research will boost the global medical cannabis market by eliminating uncertainty surrounding dosage administration and alleviating doctor’s concerns on adverse effects.

Syqe’s drug delivery technology includes complex respiration technique automation, electronic selective dosing and remote clinical monitoring and dose control, significantly expanding the applicability of this platform well beyond cannabis.

Syqe founder and CEO Perry Davidson said, “80% of cannabis patients inhale the plant. For too long, physicians who wish to treat these patients have been without the most basic clinical knowledge on dosing, efficacy and adverse events of cannabis. For 8 years Syqe has been developing proprietary technologies for the administration of raw plants, and through our clinical trials we were able to determine the recommended dosage of inhaled cannabis down to the microgram. This launch marks the beginning of a new chapter in pain treatment, one in which physicians can confidently prescribe precise dosages of cannabis, and patients can reap the rewards, effectively and responsibly.”

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on June 20, 2019