Oct 16, 2017 | By Benedict
Syqe Medical, a drug delivery company based in Israel, is continuing to enjoy huge success with its 3D printed cannabis inhaler, designed to allow those with chronic pain to inhale a precise dosage. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will trial the device next year.
It’s been over three years since we first reported on Syqe Medical and its 3D printed medical marijuana inhaler. Since then, the company has gone from strength to strength, receiving widespread acclaim for its medically precise product and even receiving investment from pharma giants like Teva Pharmaceuticals. (To date, Syqe Medical has raised around $33 million from various investors.)
Two years ago, the 3D printed inhaler was approved for use in a pilot program in Haifa, Israel. Soon, however, the amazing cannabis dosing device could reach the U.S., with the FDA planning to trial the inhaler some time next year.
And while Israel has propelled Syqe Medical to its current status, cracking the booming U.S. cannabis market could propel CEO Perry Davidson’s company toward stratospheric levels of success.
It's easy to see why the 3D printed cannabis inhaler has been so popular. While medical-grade marijuana is becoming more widely used around the world as a legitimate form of medication (for cancer patients and other sufferers of various illnesses), debate continues as to how patients should consume the substance.
Nobody in medicine advocates smoking, of course, but healthier options like vaporizers can be difficult to control. Cannabis is, after all, a natural plant, which makes it harder to put into consistent doses than say, a drug in pill form.
One solution is turning marijuana into a liquid form, which makes it easier to dose. This, however, has its own problems: the positive effects can take hours to kick in, which makes it less useful for patients who may be prone to sudden pangs of intense pain.
That’s why the Syqe Medical inhaler has been so well-received. Not only can it precisely control cannabis dosage (its precision is within the one-hundred-microgram range), it also takes patients just a few minutes to feel the effects.
It works by dispensing pre-loaded VaporChips, similar in shape and size to a computer chip, which contain precise dosages. The responsive inhaler uses thermal controllers and lung interfacing to see how the user is inhaling, and can increase or decrease airflow depending on the speed of inhalation.
This innovative approach means that patients taking too big or small a breath won’t accidentally inhale too much or too little marijuana.
All this and more convinced Teva to take on the Syqe Medical project, with the pharma giant now distributing the 3D printed device around Israel.
With the U.S. FDA trial set to begin in 2018, Syqe Medical will be hoping for similar success in America, where some form of medical marijuana is now legal across most states. Syqe’s investors are confident, with $20 million of that aforementioned $33 million coming from American tobacco giant Philip Morris, the New York company that produces Marlboro cigarettes.
At present, all Israeli users of the Syqe Medical inhaler (there are reportedly several hundred of them) are patients at the Rambam Hospital in Haifa. Next year, authorities will decide if the product is suitable for use outside of hospitals.
Earlier this year, Israeli PCB 3D printer pioneer Nano Dimension supplied one of its DragonFly 2020 3D printers to Syqe Medical.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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I manufacture in Arizona state licensed. We are wholesale to 91 retail stores, we want to use this technology. How do we get this delivery system?
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