This Startup Is One Step Closer To Making Drugs In Space

Forbes

Varda Space Industries successfully manufactured a sample of HIV medication on board its spacecraft and returned it safely to Earth.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2024/03/20/this-startup-is-one-step-closer-to-making-drugs-in-space/?sh=55a08cad6b8e  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00 Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Sunday, March 24.

00:05 Today on Forbes, this startup is one step closer to making drugs in space.

00:13 On June 12, 2023, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully lifted multiple satellites to

00:19 orbit, among them the W1 belonging to California-based Varda Space Industries.

00:26 On board was a small, automated laboratory, and over the course of the eight-month mission,

00:31 it successfully made a specific form of ritonavir, a drug commonly used to treat HIV.

00:38 That might not sound like a big deal, but it's a crucial proof of concept for a technique

00:43 that paves the way for manufacturing drugs in orbit that can't be made on Earth.

00:48 That Varda's ritonavir was created exactly as predicted, and remained stable through

00:53 its return to Earth, is particularly promising.

00:57 The version of the drug the company attempted is one of its least stable forms.

01:02 Pulling off its manufacture in space is proof that not only can the company's technology

01:07 make a drug in orbit, it can also deliver it safely back to Earth.

01:12 Varda Chief Science Officer Adrian Radocza told Forbes, "Our analysis confirms that

01:18 we have the same manufacturing control in space as we do on Earth."

01:23 But the question is, why would anyone want to manufacture drugs in space?

01:27 They're expensive enough already, and rockets aren't cheap.

01:31 The answer lies in the process of crystallization.

01:35 In many drugs, the way that crystallization occurs can have major impacts on manufacturing

01:40 costs, overall quality, stability, and how well it works on patients.

01:45 Plus, it can determine whether it can be made as a pill, or will require an IV.

01:51 And as it turns out, in the microgravity of space, it's easier to make certain crystals

01:57 than it is here on Earth, and to have finer control over the process.

02:02 That's why experiments with protein crystallization have been ongoing on the International Space

02:07 Station for over two decades now.

02:10 In the past year, pharmaceutical giants Bristol-Myers Squibb and Lilly have both established protein

02:16 crystallization experiments to the International Space Station, or ISS.

02:21 Varda co-founder and president Delyan Asparohov said that the one key breakthrough is a 2019

02:28 experiment performed on the International Space Station with Merck's cancer drug, Keytruda.

02:33 That research found that in microgravity, it was possible to make stable crystal forms

02:37 of the drug that could be delivered with an injection and stored at room temperature.

02:43 That's a huge difference.

02:44 The Earth-made version requires refrigeration and can only be administered to patients via

02:49 IV.

02:50 Asparohov said that the experiment was impressive, but also showed the limitations of using the

02:56 ISS as the primary place to do this kind of research.

03:00 He said, "The cadence has been way too low and the costs have been way too high."

03:07 That's because the ISS is a complex spacecraft certified to safely carry people, "but humans

03:13 are not really necessary" to make drug ingredients without needing any astronauts on board.

03:20 That's what ultimately led to the founding of Varda in 2020 by Asparohov, Will Brewe

03:26 and Daniel Marshall.

03:28 The company has since raised $54 million in venture capital to date, at a valuation of

03:33 $149.5 million, according to PitchBook.

03:37 Its vision is to build reusable, automated manufacturing satellites that can make drug

03:42 ingredients in space and return them back to Earth to deliver to their customers without

03:48 needing any astronauts on board.

03:51 With its first demonstration mission a success, Asparohov said the company is ready to start

03:56 making products for customers on its orbital manufacturing platform.

04:00 These wouldn't necessarily be small batches, either.

04:03 As an example, Asparohov said one of Varda's craft could be optimized to make ingredients

04:08 for around 200,000 doses of Keytruda in space at a time.

04:13 He said, "I think Varda will be the first company to actually show that there's value

04:18 to atoms being moved back and forth from space."

04:23 For full coverage, check out Alex Knapp's piece on Forbes.com.

04:28 This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

04:31 Thanks for tuning in.

04:32 "

04:38 (upbeat music)

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