Canada approves fourth medical cannabis vaporizer license

Health Canada approved a cannabinoid inhaler made by Tel Aviv, Israel-based Syqe Medical, the company announced, making it only the fourth medical device license granted for a cannabinoid vaporizer by Canada’s federal regulator of therapeutic products.

The license means the inhaler may be offered for general marketing purposes in Canada.

Syqe Medical said in late April that its device will be available for patents in Canada via a partnership with a licensed producer, though the company declined to identify the company.

The other three licenses are for Volcano Medic, Mighty Medic and Volcano Medic 2 – all of which belong to Storz & Bickel, a subsidiary of Smiths Falls, Ontario-based Canopy Growth.

Health Canada told MJBizDaily there were no cannabis medical device applications awaiting approval as of early May.

Canada is home to the largest federally regulated medical marijuana market in the world, and some experts say technological advancements, proven efficacy and improved access are key to unlocking more growth.

Canada ended 2020 with 321,539 active patient registrations, according to the latest figures. (See chart.)

Roughly 8,045 health-care practitioners signed off on medical cannabis prescriptions last year.

Michael Milloy, general manager of Syqe Medical Canada, told MJBizDaily, “When I look at this inhaler, I see it a little different than your traditional vaporizer. It’s kind of like a pharma, medical-grade product.”

In a news release, Syqe Medical said the inhaler is the first pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis delivery device system to provide consistent dosing via inhalation. The metered-dose system allows the patient to benefit from very low doses of medical cannabis, according to the release.

“When (physicians) are recommending (medical cannabis) to patients, they want to be crystal clear and confident that they can get the outcome that is needed,” Milloy said.

“There is a lot of demand and expectations to address some of the unmet needs out there, and we think the inhaler can meet those unmet needs.”