The Desert Blooms: CanNegev and Its Ventures Create Innovation in the Negev
CanNegev, a technology incubator operating in Yeruham, is expanding its activities beyond medical cannabis to embrace all types of innovation and also include 'the day after' - enabling entrepreneurs and industries to take root in the Negev and develop high-quality employment opportunities for local residents
An inhaler is the standard solution for a range of respiratory diseases, but it's far from perfect: at best it exhibits limited effectiveness in transferring all-important medication to the lungs, and if used improperly, it has consequences which impose heavy costs on the healthcare system. Soon to reach the market, however, is a whole new way of delivering medication to the lungs: a chargeable dry powder inhaler developed by CanDapi is expected to be remarkably effective and less expensive than the traditional device, as well as suitable for all ages and all medical conditions.
Originally the novel inhaler was designed for medical cannabis users, but the startup’s inclusion in the CanNegev incubator in Yeruham has expanded the product's potential applications. “Already in our first year in the incubator, we received professional guidance and support, as well as financial investments, to help us turn our innovative idea into a successful company,” says CanDapi CEO Amnon Kritzman Kidron. Now on its way to clinical trials and regulation procedures, the company plans to stay in Yeruham – to which the CEO himself has already moved from Pardes Hanna, and employ local residents at all stages of the project.
It was Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, who declared that “in the Negev the nation shall be tested.” Today, as the country marks its 75th anniversary with that vision not yet fulfilled, more and more institutions and businesses are taking up the challenge. One of these is the CanNegev technology incubator, established in 2020 by three partners: Padagis pharmaceuticals (formerly a division of Perrigo), Israel medical cannabis leader BOL Pharma and the OurCrowd investment platform.
Supported by the Israel Innovation Authority, CanNegev (as its name suggests), began its operations in the medical cannabis industry. Soon, however, “our focus shifted to the Negev itself," says CanNegev CEO Israel Birenbaum. "We expanded our scope to include all types of innovation that we are able to support, as long as it takes place in the Negev. Creating a range of specially targeted programs, we have become a home for all initiatives and entrepreneurs throughout the Negev. Our ultimate purpose is to grow innovative technological companies in the Negev."
Today CanNegev nurtures ventures in fields as diverse as health and biotech, precision agriculture, energy efficiency, UAVs and robotics. Moreover, the incubator has expanded its support system to include 'the day after'. “We are no longer satisfied with just providing labs, equipment and innovative workspaces for a year or two,” says CanNegev’s VP for Business Development, Ziv Bet Or. “Beyond helping companies grow, we now aim to enable them to remain here in the Negev by helping them find further funding and joint ventures."
One company coming from a field that is totally new to CanNegev is Economotor Innovation, developing a revolutionary power control system for electric vehicles that saves energy and reduces production costs. Economotor began its journey in the Negev, where its founders and workforce reside, and intends to continue growing in this region, offering jobs in advanced R&D. According to CEO Shai Cohen CanNegev has provided his company with “a pleasant, state-of-the-art, nurturing work environment, while also promoting our venture and exposing us to contents and connections that are more difficult to come by outside of Israel's central region."
Like a family in the desert
Sol-Del Medical, developing an innovative controlled-release drug-delivery system for both medical and cosmetic applications, is another CanNegev-supported startup. Its novel product stores a prescribed amount of active therapeutics, in ointment or liquid form, in convenient, flexible, dissolving patches which, when attached to the skin, release the healing material within a timespan of minutes to days. According to the company, “CanNegev embraced us and gave us all the help we needed for our unique R&D processes."
Even though medical cannabis is no longer CanNegev’s sole focus, it is far from neglected. The Lasting Effect pharmaceutical startup, for example, develops an innovative cannabinoid-based solution for gingivitis or gum disease, one of the world’s most common chronic disorders. The company's product is an extended controlled-release CBD (cannabidiol) tablet, which has shown extraordinary effectiveness in initial trials. At CanNegev Lasting Effect enjoys an extensive support envelope that includes operations, marketing, advantageous connections, and help in preparing effective investor presentations. The company has the Negev in its soul: all its employees live in the region, CanNegev provides it with labs and offices, its tablet is developed at a lab in Ofakim, and Tech19, a Yeruham-based company, builds oral cavity models for its experiments. “At CanNegev we’re like a small family living on a farm in the desert,” says Lasting Effect's founder Igal Pikovsky.
3R Pharma, another CanNegev startup, develops a novel cannabis-based topical treatment for dry eye disease, a condition affecting some 16 percent of the global population – with prevalence constantly rising due to the increase in life expectancy and burgeoning use of screens and air-conditioning. “CanNegev is a meeting-point for startups,” says 3R Pharma CEO Michael Rubinov. “Working at the incubator, we can share strategic, business-related and scientific knowledge with other young companies, think together about ideas and solutions for our challenges, and help promote one another’s ventures.” At the advanced stage of commercialization, the company plans to establish a production plant in the Negev.
Agriculture is the focus of Ramon AgTech, a CanNegev startup developing autonomous solutions that will use optics and advanced algorithms to detect and monitor pests and diseases in agricultural crops. Its first product is an autonomous robot designed to move through greenhouses and open fields and identify disease and pest infestation before they are visible to the human eye — allowing rapid response to prevent massive spreading and heavy economic damage. “CanNegev has been critical for us, from obtaining funds and daily management to strategic decision-making in line with changing global markets,” says Ramon AgTech management. “We’re working together today to solve problems that will be relevant in five years’ time, identifying new markets to penetrate, and all the while thinking about bolstering the Negev and Israel's periphery.” As it grows, the company intends to offer local residents high-quality employment in R&D, AI, optics and more. Today, its employees volunteer in technological education projects in the Negev and mentor high school students participating in Yeruham's successful robotics team.
The great potential of CanNegev and its ventures, and the promise of enormous contribution to the Negev, give new meaning to the ‘Can’ in the incubator's name: ‘Yes, we can!’ This notion is also expressed in the incubator's new slogan and logo: Technology, Innovation, Negev. So perhaps, as they say at CanNegev, by the time Israel celebrates its 85th birthday, the incubator will have helped realize Ben Gurion’s vision for the Negev! CanNegev invites entrepreneurs and investors to contribute to the new Zionism and make the Negev bloom through successful startups.
Partnered with Cannegev
