PIL-BOX Flying to International Space Station
PIL-BOX Flying to International Space Station
First Mission for New Pharmaceutical Drug Development Lab
An innovative in-space pharmaceutical manufacturing platform called PIL-BOX will fly to the International Space Station as part of the SpaceX-29 commercial resupply mission.
“PIL-BOX presents us with a brand-new capability for developing critical, life-saving treatments."
John Vellinger, Redwire
On this inaugural PIL-BOX-01 mission, Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) is partnering with Redwire to conduct three critical experiments focused on developing advanced treatments for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and pain.
PIL-BOX is designed to offer pharmaceutical companies and researchers novel and flexible services to grow small-batch crystals of protein-based pharmaceuticals and other key pharmaceutically relevant molecules for research. Understanding crystal growth and design can inform the entire drug development and design process as pharmaceutical companies look to deliver new, optimized treatments to help patients on Earth. Previous spaceflight investigations indicate that growing crystals in space could yield a more uniform product with fewer imperfections, which can improve the drug discovery and development process.
“The microgravity environment is a game changer for pharmaceutical drug development, which has a greater than $240 billion annual spend in 2022, and has tremendous potential to save and improve life on Earth,” said Redwire EVP John Vellinger. “PIL-BOX presents us with a brand-new capability for developing critical, life-saving treatments, like insulin, for diseases like diabetes and heart disease. With PIL-BOX, Redwire is providing a critical capability for researchers and enabling them to develop novel forms of crystals to create better, more successful treatments for patients.”
PIL-BOX technology builds from Redwire’s multi-decade space crystallization flight heritage, which dates back to the space shuttle era through its Advanced Space Experiment Processor. It is being developed in partnership with NASA, through its In Space Production Applications flight demonstrations program, which is focused on stimulating demand in low-Earth orbit..
On SpaceX-29, Redwire is also launching materials for an investigation that will bioprint cardiac tissue on orbit using Redwire’s BioFabrication Facility (BFF). This type of technology could be used to develop heart patches that can be applied to the outside of damaged hearts and advances our ability to print complex, thick tissues that cannot be produced on Earth. In September, Redwire announced that it had successfully 3D bioprinted the first human knee meniscus on orbit using BFF. The print returned to Earth for further study and analysis.