Utah plays role in first-ever space production of experimental drugs

California-based startup Varda Space Industries has made history by successfully returning samples of a drug made in space. And after months of delay in the experimental laboratory’s return, Utah hosted the historic landing.

Originally destined for a July return, the spacecraft parachuted to a soft landing late last month in the Utah desert at the Utah Test and Training Range near Dugway in Tooele County. The in-space manufacturing capsule had been confined in orbit for months due to re-entry denial from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The W-1 mission re-entry capsule contained space-grown antiviral drug crystals.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket carried the 264-pound, first-ever mini-space drug facility into orbit on June 12. The crystallization process for Ritonavir, an HIV treatment drug, took place in late June. The in-orbit production of drug crystals occurred onboard the conical W-Series 1 satellite, which was affixed to Rocket Lab’s orbital Photon platform.

Rocket Lab, the developer of the space lab platform, said microgravity offers a unique setting for the development of small drug crystals. Drug crystals have the potential to form more efficiently in the absence of gravity compared to on Earth. In microgravity, the impact of gravitational forces on crystal growth is minimized, resulting in purer and more precisely defined crystal structures. This has significant implications for pharmaceutical research and drug development, potentially enhancing drug formulation and effectiveness, the company said.

According to Varda’s website, “Processing materials in microgravity, or the near-weightless conditions found in space, offers a unique environment not available through terrestrial processing. These benefits primarily stem from the lack of convection and sedimentation forces, as well as the ability to form more perfect structures due to the absence of gravitational stresses.”

After the successful re-entry, the team transported the capsule back to the company’s facilities in Los Angeles for post-mission analysis.

Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and CEO, said, “This mission was a phenomenal feat and impressive display of teamwork between the Rocket Lab and Varda teams to develop a unique and highly capable spacecraft, successfully demonstrate in-space manufacturing, and bring back the capsule and finished pharmaceutical product — all on the first attempt. Being part of the first pharmaceutical in-space mission to happen outside of the International Space Station is immensely exciting and we look forward to building on this success with more Rocket Lab spacecraft in development for Varda right now.”