Big tobacco is making a bet on medical cannabis.

What’s happening:

• Tobacco giant Phillip Morris has agreed to purchase Israeli based medical technology company Syqe Medical
• Syqe has developed an inhaler technology that uses medical cannabis to precisely dose patients with chronic neuropathic pain, without psychoactive effects

Why it matters:

• There is enormous promise in medical cannabis treatments and technology that potentially go far beyond the opportunity of recreational cannabis
• This is a major sign of validation that tobacco giants are looking to push their way into the medical cannabis space
• Syqe’s medical inhaler device is currently already available in Israel and Australia and has also been approved by Canadian health regulators

By the numbers:

• Phillip Morris will invest $120M to fund Syqe through an FDA approval of their medical device technology
• If they are successful in receiving FDA approval then Phillip Morris will purchase the entire company for $650M
• Previously Phillip Morris made a $1.44B acquisition of pharmaceutical company Vectura who develops inhaled medications and makes inhaler devices

The intrigue:

• Phillip Morris was already an investor in Syqe Medical, previously putting $20M into the startup in order to help build out their technology

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