Robots making drugs in space? What sounds like the subject of a pulpy 1950s science fiction story is now a reality. Since launching its first space vessel in 2023 — and with a recent influx of $187 million — Varda Space has successfully manufactured the first drugs outside the International Space Station, starting with the HIV treatment ritonavir. The low-gravity environment helps grow crystals and could someday be used for mass production, the company’s leadership has said.

Beyond manufacturing, researchers are using the unique properties of outer space to learn new ways to make drugs, particularly those with protein crystallization. And Big Pharma has gotten in on the action. In an experiment with its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, for example, Merck & Co. has found that crystals grow smaller and more uniformly.

And Elon Musk’s company SpaceX, along with scientists at some of America’s leading research institutions, is continuing that space adventure with a new launch this week blasting new experiments to the International Space Station. Today, we’re looking at how those studies could impact the way drugs are discovered and developed back here on Earth.

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