A New Medical Revolution in Space

On March 1, 1996, Abbott Labs released their new drug, ritonavir, and it transformed HIV treatment forever. Ritonavir allowed other medications to last longer in the bloodstream, and it became one of the most important parts of combination therapy for HIV patients. For the first time, HIV was no longer a terminal diagnosis, and patients finally had a real chance of living a long, healthy life. 

However, in June 1998, the drug was withdrawn from the market. 

Suddenly, the drugs looked discolored and failed to pass routine quality tests. As the new pills produced were not soluble in water, the drug could no longer enter the bloodstream and had virtually no effect on the body. The failure was so widespread and so rapid that scientists discovered a new form of ritonavir infecting the manufacturing facilities, and causing all the drugs produced to fail. 

Ritonavir became subject to polymorphism, a phenomenon in which substances with the same chemical composition crystallize into different structures. Although polymorphism is not rare (widely used drugs like Tylenol and aspirin have multiple polymorphs), ritonavir was the first prominent case of disappearing polymorphs. A more stable form of the ritonavir (Form II) spread throughout ritonavir manufacturing facilities, causing Form I (the desired form) to be unproducible. 

Typically, you can switch between different polymorphs of a substance by altering the temperature, pressure, adding impurities, etc. However, in the case of ritonavir, the activation energy barrier between Form I and Form II is extremely large. Once Form II forms, it is virtually impossible to go back.  

Today, commercial space travel is offering a possible solution. On Earth, gravity dictates how much we can control the crystallization process. In the microgravity of space, dense particles cannot “sink,” hot particles cannot “rise,” and crystallization can occur in more controlled environments. Thus, drugs made in space will be purer, more uniform, and can have crystal structures that cannot be formed on Earth. 

The key breakthrough in this new field of space pharma came in 2019, when Merck & Co. performed crystal growth experiments on the ISS to better understand how drugs behave in microgravity. These tests helped inspire a more accessible version of their famous cancer drug, Keytruda. Normally, Keytruda was administered using a lengthy process that involved intravenous infusions at the hospital. The research from the ISS helped scientists create an updated version of the drug, approved by the FDA in 2025, that could be injected in a few minutes at home.  

Influenced by this, Varda Space Industries demonstrated in 2023 that it was possible to crystallize the least stable version of ritonavir (form III) in space. In addition to this, they demonstrated the ability for the drug to be stored for prolonged periods of time (around 8 months) in orbit and survive the heat of atmospheric re-entry. In 2026, Varda released a new paper that confirmed that drugs manufactured in orbit matched those produced on Earth, proving the technical viability of the in-space drug manufacturing process.  

However, Varda is not the only player in this new industry. In 2025, Redwire Corp. announced a new subsidiary, SpaceMD, completely dedicated to space pharma research. Recently, SpaceMD announced a contract with SpaceX to launch new PIL-BOX (Pharmaceutical In-Space Laboratory) models into orbit, providing opportunities for large-scale space pharma research. In March 2026, Serendipity Space (an Indian startup) successfully tested their autonomous pharmaceutical manufacturing system, the Alchemy, on a high-altitude balloon. 

Even as the field of space biopharma continues to grow, the availability of commercial space stations as a testing lab is becoming increasingly scarce. NASA has announced plans to retire the ISS by 2030, and there is no intention to replace it. This effectively privatizes space travel, leaving it in the control of private companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin. Although space biopharma is currently also led by startup companies, privatization of space limits the opportunity for new researchers to test their ideas.  

At EcoAero, we believe that a sustainable space drug manufacturing process must be scalable to meet the mass production demands of the world. Currently, drug manufacturing in space, although possibly more effective than manufacturing on Earth, does not have the capacity to meet such demands.  

The privatization of space has immense potential to both assist and hinder this goal. On one hand, corporate executives do not have the restrictions that government organizations have in terms of funding and political support. On the other hand, they may be driven by profit margins and thus may only choose to support a few companies. Therefore, the future of this new medical revolution may be less in the control of scientists and engineers, and more in the hands of the people that control this new space economy. 

Image sourced via Fox Weather. Used for editorial purposes only. No commercial use. All rights belong to their respective owners.