Key Takeaways
- The cost of launching payloads into orbit remains high, but drugs may offer a lucrative exception.
- Varda and United Therapeutics are exploring drug crystallization in microgravity to enhance drug properties.
- Successful experiments could pave the way for the first drugs manufactured in space to be sold on Earth.
Orbital Drug Manufacturing: A Potential Breakthrough
The financial barriers to space payload launches make it impractical to send many materials beyond Earth. Currently, the cost exceeds $7,000 to launch just one kilogram into orbit. This limit affects ideas such as launching cotton for dyeing or sending materials for semiconductor production. However, pharmaceutical products could defy this economic challenge due to their high value. For example, a kilogram of the weight-loss drug Ozempic is valued at over $100 million on the market, although it is sold for a fraction of that price due to the minimal quantity needed for each dose.
Varda and United Therapeutics have partnered to explore the potential for manufacturing drugs in space. Their current collaboration involves testing how United’s lung medicines crystallize differently in microgravity conditions. Specific details of the arrangement remain undisclosed, including which drugs are being studied. Varda’s CEO, Rothblatt, acknowledged that the partnership seeks to identify new crystal forms, known as polymorphs, that may exhibit improved properties.
The hypothesis that crystals form uniquely in a microgravity environment is backed by previous studies. In 2017, Merck sent drug samples of its cancer treatment Keytruda to the International Space Station, revealing that the drug crystallized into a single size in space, as opposed to forming two sizes on Earth. This insight aided in the drug’s formulation for injection, though Merck ultimately utilized a different strategy for its recent Keytruda injection.
Despite these advancements, there remains a gap between discoveries made in space and their practical application on Earth. As Reilly points out, no products manufactured in space have yet been successfully sold on the ground, although Varda aims to change that. The company anticipates its first launches of United Therapeutics’ drugs into orbit in early 2024, which, if successful, could mark a significant milestone in the field of space manufacturing and drug development.
Varda’s exploration represents a frontier in pharmaceutical manufacturing that could not only reshape drug formulation but also revolutionize the space industry. As research continues, the industry awaits whether these efforts lead to the first commercially viable drugs manufactured outside our planet.
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