By Dr. Tim Sandle
SCIENCE EDITOR
DIGITAL JOURNAL
March 13, 2026
The International Space Station will be guided back to Earth in 2030, marking the end of its three-decade mission - Copyright AFP/File Chanakarn Laosarakham
Space medicine is a mix of specialised developments focused on maintaining astronaut health, safety, and performance in extreme environments, and with developing medicines for the benefit of humans under microgravity conditions. For astronauts, challenges requiring medicinal intervention include microgravity-induced bone loss, radiation exposure, and motion sickness.
For more general medicines, micro-gravity provides opportunities for scientists to investigate the special properties of the environmental condition on different candidate drug products.
Micro-gravity
The special properties of a microgravity environment enable more precise drug formulation, particularly for biologics and protein-based drugs such as monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, or insulin. The conditions alter cellular and biochemical processes in ways that can’t be replicated on the ground. For this reason, several countries are investigating space medicine and are optimising how this can be achieved efficiently.
Microgravity is defined as a state of near-weightlessness occurring during continuous free-fall, such as in orbiting spacecraft. These conditions are used for studying fluid physics, material science, and biological processes (e.g., bone loss, stem cells).
In terms of medical research advantages, microgravity conditions can improve drug solubility, purity, crystallisation and stability supporting more effective delivery and potentially lowering manufacturing risk and cost. Hence, in-orbit manufacturing of pharmaceuticals offers transformative potential across multiple domains.
Another area is with the testing of drug delivery systems (e.g., Gaucho Lung) and studying the impact of spaceflight on human health, such as muscle atrophy, bone density loss, and cardiovascular changes.
The NASA logo is displayed at the Earth Information Center exhibit – Copyright AFP/File Stefani REYNOLDS
In another example, according to Astrobiology, Wicking in Gel-Coated Tubes (Gaucho Lung) investigation studies fluid transport within gel-coated tubes to learn more about treatment programs for respiratory distress syndrome and develop new contamination control strategies. A working model is on board the International Space Station.
The experiment studies how mucus acts and behaves in the lungs under microgravity conditions, focusing on the movement of a “liquid plug” through gel-coated tubes.
Regulations
As well as scientific advancement, regulators of medicinal products need to consider how the approach the growth in space medicine. In one example, the UK Space Agency, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and other agencies are working collaboratively to provide a supportive regulatory environment to space, biopharma and pharmaceutical companies through collaborative work on guidance, regulatory sandboxes, case studies and supply chain engagement.
This comes in the context of the news that the UK Space Agency is providing funding for three in-orbit manufacturing feasibility studies including a £250,000 feasibility study for BioOrbit, a pioneering start-up that is designing a scalable in-orbit manufacturing system to crystallise biologic drugs for cancer treatments.
In another example, according to Astrobiology, Wicking in Gel-Coated Tubes (Gaucho Lung) investigation studies fluid transport within gel-coated tubes to learn more about treatment programs for respiratory distress syndrome and develop new contamination control strategies. A working model is on board the International Space Station.
The experiment studies how mucus acts and behaves in the lungs under microgravity conditions, focusing on the movement of a “liquid plug” through gel-coated tubes.
Regulations
As well as scientific advancement, regulators of medicinal products need to consider how the approach the growth in space medicine. In one example, the UK Space Agency, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and other agencies are working collaboratively to provide a supportive regulatory environment to space, biopharma and pharmaceutical companies through collaborative work on guidance, regulatory sandboxes, case studies and supply chain engagement.
This comes in the context of the news that the UK Space Agency is providing funding for three in-orbit manufacturing feasibility studies including a £250,000 feasibility study for BioOrbit, a pioneering start-up that is designing a scalable in-orbit manufacturing system to crystallise biologic drugs for cancer treatments.
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