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Could Future Medicines be Developed in Space?
The UK and Switzerland are exploring how the unusual conditions in space could help scientists develop and manufacture new medicines.
The two countries recently brought together experts from the pharmaceutical industry, government, academia and the space sector to discuss the possibilities of microgravity research.
MEDICINES IN MICROGRAVITY
Microgravity is the near-weightless environment experienced in orbit. Without the normal effects of gravity, materials, cells and proteins can behave differently, giving researchers new ways to study them.
This could be particularly useful when developing complex medicines.
Some protein-based drugs can form purer and more consistent crystals in space than they do on Earth. This may help scientists better understand their structure and potentially improve their stability, effectiveness or method of delivery.
Possible applications include treatments involving vaccines, insulin, monoclonal antibodies and medicines for cancer or rare diseases.
The UK is already supporting research into the idea. One project is examining whether biologic medicines could be crystallised in orbit before being returned safely to Earth.
However, this does not mean that pharmacies will soon be stocked with medicines made in space.
Scientists still need stronger evidence that using microgravity provides a clear advantage over traditional methods. Regulators must also establish how medicines produced in orbit can be tested, approved and brought safely to market.
The UK Space Agency and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency are working on guidance for companies interested in this emerging field.
For now, manufacturing medicines in space remains at an early stage. However, the UK-Swiss partnership shows that space research may eventually have benefits much closer to home.
The next major medical breakthrough might not begin in a laboratory on Earth, but hundreds of miles above it.
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