Varda and United Therapeutics bring commercial drug manufacturing to space

In May 2026, Varda Space Industries and United Therapeutics announced a collaboration to manufacture pharmaceuticals in low Earth orbit. The partnership marks one of the first instances of a publicly traded pharmaceutical company investing its own capital in commercial, space-based drug manufacturing rather than relying primarily on government-funded research programs.

Why manufacture drugs in space?

The microgravity environment of space allows drug molecules to assemble much more slowly and uniformly than they would on Earth. This unique environment enables them to form more uniform crystalline structures, which can improve a drug’s bioavailability, shelf-life stability, and delivery mechanisms. Exploiting these unique manufacturing conditions, the two companies aim to develop improved formulations for rare, life-threatening pulmonary diseases.

Varda’s orbital drug processing

Varda has developed an orbital manufacturing platform that uses the microgravity environment of low Earth orbit to process pharmaceuticals. Its autonomous, uncrewed W-series reentry capsules carry specialized pharmaceutical manufacturing payloads that process drug compounds in orbit before returning the finished materials safely to Earth for further development and evaluation.

Rather than serving solely as research laboratories, these spacecraft function as manufacturing facilities, using microgravity as a production environment to create pharmaceutical materials that would be difficult to produce under Earth’s gravity. 

This economic vision was recently validated by a landmark agreement with United Therapeutics, which marks the first time a large, publicly traded company is utilizing its own capital to manufacture a product in microgravity.

Pioneering the future of medicine with orbiting laboratories

Highlighting the mission’s importance, Varda CEO Will Bruey said it would “pioneer a new era in clinical development by completing the bridge from microgravity science to patient benefit on Earth.” Martine Rothblatt added that manufacturing in orbit enables pharmaceutical designs and processes that are not achievable under terrestrial conditions.

Founded in 2021 by former SpaceX engineer Will Bruey and Founders Fund partner Delian Asparouhov, Varda has quickly attracted massive capital, having raised $187 million in a Series C round in 2025 for a total of $330 million raised to date. 

Varda Space Industries: Patenting Activity

Varda’s patenting activity began in 2022 and has focused on pharmaceutical manufacturing in non-terrestrial environments, along with the specialized hardware required to support chemical processing under varying gravity conditions. Its patent portfolio spans both manufacturing methods for producing pharmaceutical solid-state forms in space and payload systems designed to enable crystallization and thermal processing in microgravity and hypergravity environments.

Microgravity-enabled crystallization

Varda’s IP strategy centers on developing novel pharmaceutical crystal forms through microgravity-enabled crystallization. Using an orbital, solution-based crystallization platform, the company seeks to produce crystal polymorphs that are difficult, and in some cases impossible, to obtain under Earth’s gravity. A notable example is the metastable Form III polymorph of ritonavir, which Varda successfully produced during its first orbital manufacturing mission.

Beyond demonstrating the feasibility of space-based drug manufacturing, these crystal forms have significant commercial implications. New polymorphs can support reformulated drug products, improved delivery methods, and additional patent protection independent of the original active pharmaceutical ingredient. By combining proprietary manufacturing hardware with methods for generating unique solid-state forms, Varda is building an intellectual property portfolio that positions microgravity not only as a manufacturing environment but also as a platform for pharmaceutical innovation and lifecycle management.

Varda Space Industries: Top Technology Areas

Varda Space Industries’ patent portfolio is concentrated in technologies that enable pharmaceutical manufacturing in space, with a strong emphasis on A61K (preparations for medical, dental, or toilet purposes), A61P (specific therapeutic activity of chemical compounds or medicinal preparations), and C07D (heterocyclic compounds). 

The portfolio also includes patents classified under B01D (separation methods), reflecting the company’s focus on crystallization, solid-state drug manufacturing, and the development of pharmaceutical formulations that leverage the unique conditions of microgravity.

The portfolio extends beyond pharmaceutical chemistry to encompass the engineering systems required for orbital manufacturing. Key classifications include C30B (single-crystal growth), G05D (systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables), G01K (measuring temperature and heat), C07K (peptides), and B64G (cosmonautics). 

Together, these CPC classifications demonstrate Varda’s integrated approach to combining pharmaceutical science, precision process control, and spacecraft engineering to establish a commercially viable platform for manufacturing medicines in low Earth orbit.

Revolutionizing microgravity therapeutics

Varda’s patent portfolio focuses on technologies that enable pharmaceutical manufacturing in microgravity, particularly systems for controlled crystallization and the production of novel solid-state drug forms. Two representative patents illustrate the company’s approach to leveraging the space environment for pharmaceutical development.

A method for gravity-independent crystallization 

Developing high quality crystals for pharmaceuticals and materials science requires more than just standard terrestrial laboratory environments. A system that can produce perfect crystals free from defects caused by gravity driven convection and buoyancy forces is much needed in this era. 

Traditional crystallization methods often struggle because they are subject to these gravity induced forces, which lead to non-uniform crystal growth, or they rely on highly complex and limited hardware to conduct experiments in microgravity environments, complicating the primary manufacturing process.

U.S. Patent No. 12,544,688 introduces a solution through a specialized payload system for processing chemical substances under various gravity levels, such as microgravity, without requiring a convection-dependent environment. The patent details the use of a gravity-independent crystallization system that includes solution and anti-solvent reservoirs, a fluid manifold, a mixing chip, and a growth chamber. 

Unlike traditional terrestrial systems that are hindered by unpredictable fluid vaporization or gravity-driven buoyancy, this system assesses and controls the crystallization process through specialized thermal management and precise fluid mixing, providing a scalable and robust platform for space-based manufacturing.

The system works by isolating the chemical processing steps and managing them in distinct, highly controlled stages. First, it reduces the temperature of an undersaturated solution liquid, a mixture of a solid pre-manufacturing chemical substance and a liquid solvent from a first temperature to a second, lower temperature. Second, it mixes this solution with an anti-solvent liquid to produce a supersaturated solution liquid, which then undergoes nucleation and growth within a growth chamber to become a saturated solution slurry.

 These thermal and mixing features are tightly regulated by a thermal control system utilizing thermoelectric coolers (TECs), while bubbles are removed via gas-permeable membrane traps. The resulting slurry is then pushed through a separation process, such as a yield filter, to separate the solid manufactured chemical substance from the liquid supernatant, ensuring the highly refined crystals are safely recovered.

The patent, titled “Gravity-independent crystallization System,” was filed on July 28, 2023, and granted on February 10, 2026. The inventors are Jeffrey Michael Anderson, Haley Coddington Bauser, Larry Robin Chan, Eric Douglas Miller, Ami Sanat Bhavsar, Kenneth Hoyt Condon, Jordan Michael Croom, Andrew Steven McCalip, and Adrian Radocea. 

A method for preparing solid state forms

Developing highly bioavailable and stable crystal forms of pharmaceuticals, such as ritonavir, requires more than just standard crystallization techniques. A system that can reliably and rapidly produce the Form III ritonavir is much needed in the pharmaceutical industry. Traditional methods often struggle because they yield less soluble polymorphs, like Form I or Form II, which have historically threatened the supply of the drug by causing product dissolution failures, or they require lengthy and complex procedures to successfully generate the desired Form III.

U.S. Patent No. 12,318,370 introduces a solution through a novel and simple thermal method to generate Form III ritonavir in significantly less time than previously reported methods. The patent details a process of melting a sample of ritonavir and systematically cooling it to specific nucleation temperatures. Unlike traditional methods that rely on complex solvent-based processes or extended timeframes, this thermal approach provides a rapid and straightforward method that can be performed both terrestrially and under reduced gravity conditions.

The method works by manipulating the thermal states of ritonavir in distinct, highly controlled stages. First, it melts a sample of ritonavir which can be amorphous ritonavir, Form I, or Form II by raising it to a melt temperature, typically 125°C or greater. Second, it cools the melted sample to a first temperature within a specific nucleation temperature range, generally between 60°C and 100°C. 

These thermal conditions are then maintained for a precise nucleation period to allow the desired Form III crystals to nucleate and grow, which are then recovered to produce highly bioavailable pharmaceutical compositions.

The patent, titled “Processes for preparing solid state forms,” was filed on March 29, 2024, and granted on June 3, 2025. The inventors are Adrian Radocea, Jordan Michael Croom, Larry Robin Chan, Ami Sanat Bhavsar, Pamela A. Smith, Stephen R. Byrn, Stephan D. Parent, and Dale K. Purcell.

Legal representation for both patents was provided by Fenwick & West LLP.