(JTA) – Teva Pharmaceutical Industries of Israel will market and distribute a cannabis inhaler in the country, becoming the first major medical company in the world to do so. Teva signed an agreement to exclusively market and distribute the inhaler developed and manufactured by the Tel Aviv-based company Syqe Medical, the companies said in a statement Nov. 27. Syqe said it was the first time that a major global pharmaceutical company would market a medical cannabis product. The inhaler has been used at the Rambam Hospital in Haifa.

Israel’s Health Ministry was expected to approve the device for use by patients at home by 2017.