Medicine in Space: Is Drug Manufacturing More Viable in Microgravity?

During space missions, spacecraft send important information and pictures back to Earth for further analysis in observatories. Space journeys in other solar system regions also allow astronomers to send valuable items such as asteroid samples. In a recent breakthrough, a startup firm has made it possible to send space-made antiviral drugs to the surface of the Earth.

Microgravity in Healthcare

Processing materials in microgravity provides a unique environment unavailable through terrestrial processing. These benefits stem from the lack of sedimentation and convection forces and the ability to create more perfect structures due to the absence of gravitational stresses.

Drug crystals could likely form more efficiently in the absence of gravity. In the near-weightless conditions in space, gravitational forces have minimal impact on the growth of crystals. This results in purer crystal structures, which are more precisely defined, potentially enhancing drug formation.

First Ever Space-Made Drug

On February 15, launch and space systems company Rocket Lab USA, Inc. announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had approved the reentry of an in-space manufacturing capsule made by a California-based company. The spacecraft safely landed in the Utah desert at the Utah Test and Training Range facilitated by parachutes on February 21.

Developed by Varda Space Industries, the Winnebago-1 spacecraft was launched last year with the original plan to return to Earth as early as the following month. However, things didn't go as planned, and the private company struggled to secure permission from the FAA and the U.S. military toreturnk. The 200-pound (91 kilograms) capsule spent eight months outside the Earth after facing months of orbital confinement.

This is the first time the FAA has approved a Part 450 reentry license. This is also the first time the U.S. Department of Defense has worked with a commercial space company to permit this mission on a government-owned range.

The W-1 spacecraft lifted off in June 2023 on SpaceX's Transporter-8 rideshare mission. The 3-foot-wide (0.9 meters) conical capsule was integrated into a Rocket Lab Photon spacecraft to receive power, propulsion, navigation, and other services.

The capsule contained the resources needed to grow crystals of Ritonavir, an antiviral drug used in treating HIV and hepatitis C. The cargo was intentionally chosen since medicines are high-value products that can help spark and enhance the industry of off-Earth manufacturing. Aa week after the successful liftoff, Varda announced that its crystal-growing experiment had worked. Varda aims to contribute to off-Earth manufacturing, providing production options with intriguing advantages. Experts took 27 hours to execute the first such drug-production trial. The team plans to transport the capsule back to Varda's facilities in Los Angeles for post-mission evaluation.

The success made the Winnebago-1 spacecraft the third intact spacecraft to have recovered from orbit. The other two were Dragon vehicles from SpaceX and the Starliner capsule from Boeing. Varda wants to make returning space-made products to Earth more efficient and cost-effective. Its small, uncrewed capsules can do this, which serve as mini-factories and return vehicles.