Why drug development is heading to orbit
The highly anticipated SpaceX mega-IPO is part of a space frenzy that is moving beyond satellite connectivity, launch vehicles, and aerospace defense to the pharmaceutical sector. A growing number of companies are heading to lower Earth orbit to make medicines in microgravity.
The range of commercial opportunities is expanding as foundational aerospace industries set the necessary infrastructure. Morgan Stanley predicts the space economy could surpass $1 trillion by 2040, and while industries from semiconductors to fiber-optic cables stand to benefit, medicine could see the most immediate disruption.
Last year, space and defense technology company Redwire formed a dedicated subsidiary, SpaceMD, to commercialize pharmaceutical products developed in space. It has spent years developing orbital bioprinting but sees its most commercial opportunity in creating ways to administer drugs to patients.
The most successful technology is the PIL-BOX, a new drug formulation technology, SpaceMD CEO John Vellinger told CNBC.
SpaceMD has already flown 54 PIL-BOX units – specialized, automated micro-laboratories designed to crystallize proteins in orbit – and has tested 37 drug compounds, he said.
“We’ve worked with Eli Lilly, Bristol Myers Squibb, other pharma companies, and we’ve shown them these new crystal forms, and they want to continue to bring us new drug candidates,” Vellinger said.
Why are drugs being made in space?
On Earth, pharmaceutical formulation is constantly disrupted by gravity via mechanisms like sedimentation, where heavy particles sink to the bottom of a test tube, and convection, where hot fluids rise and cold fluids sink.
In space, the absence of gravity means that scientists can grow more uniform and higher-quality crystals, said Phil Williams, professor of biophysics at the University of Nottingham. Crystals grown in low Earth orbit are therefore more predictable and free from defects.
Glycine crystals grown with Redwire’s PIL-BOX on the ISS. Glycine is an amino acid which serves functions in many areas of the human body such as a neurotransmitter, a component in collagen, and a building block for other important molecules in the body. The crystals returned to Earth in April 2024. Image: Redwire
Redwire
When molecules are more uniform, they typically become easier to administer to patients, Williams said. When crystals are a mix of different sizes, small crystals hide in the gaps of larger ones, making the liquid thicker.
This matters because viscosity — the thickness of the drug — dictates how patients absorb medicine. Thick biologics and medicines typically require big needles and long hospital infusions. By lowering viscosity, complex therapies can be reformatted into thin, painless injections. Heavy, unstable liquids can also be stored without the massive financial and environmental costs of, for example, deep-freeze air freight.
Merck’s proof of concept
Space pharma originated with Merck, known as MSD outside of the U.S. In 2014,…
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