Mission success: Ritonavir crystallization experiments conducted in space worked flawlessly

The metastable Form III was successfully crystallized in orbit and recovered after reentry to Earth

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., March 22, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Improved Pharma and Varda Space Industries have published the first mission results in ChemRxiv in an article entitled Return of the Ritonavir: A Study on the Stability of Pharmaceuticals Processed in Orbit and Returned to Earth. The team reports that the most stable form of ritonavir (Form II) was successfully converted to the metastable Form III in microgravity. In addition, control samples of Form I, Form II, Form III, and amorphous ritonavir that were also part of the payload were successfully recovered, with no signs of form conversion.

"We're thrilled with these results" exclaimed Steve Byrn, Improved Pharma's CSO. "Being able to conduct pharmaceutical experiments in microgravity is a game-changer and opens the door for exciting discoveries to be made".

Varda is the first company to autonomously process pharmaceuticals in space and bring them back to Earth. These results from Mission 1 show that the spacecraft and crystallization hardware performed flawlessly. Analytical testing at Improved Pharma confirmed that the space crystallization experiments were a success, and that the physical stability of all samples was preserved.

For more information, please refer to these earlier updates:

Discovery of Form III of ritonavir: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.cgd.2c01017

Launch into space: https://improvedpharma.com/improved-pharma-varda-space-industries-conducting-pharmaceutical-experiments-space/

On-board video of reentry from separation to landing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw4DseiPu7E

Successful recovery of the capsule: https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/02/vardas-drug-cooking-winnebago-will-be-remembered-as-a-space-pioneer/

Feature story in Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2024/03/20/this-startup-is-one-step-closer-to-making-drugs-in-space/?sh=6a35b6516b8e

About Improved Pharma
Improved Pharma is a research, consulting, and information company dedicated to improving pharmaceutical methods, formulations, and processes. Services include solid-state form studies, formulation design, synchrotron techniques, analytical testing, and expert consulting for the development and defense of intellectual property matters. The company was founded in 2006 by Stephen and Sarah Byrn, who also founded SSCI. For more information about Improved Pharma's services, please contact us at 1-765-463-9951 or [email protected].

About Varda Space Industries
Varda is a venture capital-backed company creating the first free-flying space stations and reentry vehicles ready-built for materials processing. Microgravity found in low Earth Orbit (LEO) makes it possible to precisely control the crystallization process during development and manufacturing to create valuable pharmaceutical products that cannot be created on Earth's surface. Varda has raised $53m+ from a cadre of world-class venture capital firms including, but not limited to: Founders Fund, Lux Capital, Caffeinated Capital, Khosla Ventures, and General Catalyst. For more information about Varda please contact [email protected] or visit varda.com.

Media Contact

Pam Smith, Improved Pharma, (765) 463-9951, [email protected], https://improvedpharma.com/ 

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SOURCE Improved Pharma