Redwire has completed on-orbit operations for the latest batch of pharmaceutical drug development investigations, which launched to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard recent commercial resupply missions. Four investigations focused on advancing development of a cancer therapeutic and analyzing crystal formation in space to improve drug manufacturing.
The investigations were conducted in partnership with world-leading pharmaceutical researchers at Aspera Biomedicines (Aspera), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), Rowan University (Rowan) and Purdue University. Additionally, Redwire completed on-orbit operations for a new biotech investigation led by researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) focused on gaining a better understanding of advanced heart disease. All five investigations returned to Earth on June 17, 2026.
Aspera, a pharmaceutical company specializing in the development of cancer stem cell targeted therapies, used PIL-BOX to advance development of Rebecsinib, an ADAR1 inhibitor. Results from the investigation could enable new drug formulations that will provide broader cancer treatment options. This was the second spaceflight investigation Redwire has conducted for Aspera. For Redwire’s third spaceflight investigation with BMS, PIL-BOX was leveraged to grow crystals of large molecule compounds, complex therapies derived from living organisms designed to target specific biological processes and treat diseases that small-molecule drugs often cannot.
An investigation with Rowan leveraged PIL-BOX to better understand how microgravity affects the formation of crystals for pharmaceutical products, with an eye toward improving production of these drugs. For this pioneering investigation, Rowan incorporated a second component to a host molecule to generate pharmaceutical alloys. This new approach could eventually allow drug makers to fine-tune a medication’s properties and improve manufacturing processes. In a second spaceflight investigation with Purdue University, PIL-BOX was used to study how microgravity influences the crystallization of several pharmaceutical compounds targeting therapeutic areas such as cancer, cardiovascular, and anti-aging. Insights gleaned from the investigation could be translated into improved Earth-based manufacturing strategies.
These latest investigations mark 54 PIL-BOXes flown to date. PIL-BOX is the premier platform for pharmaceutical researchers, leveraging the microgravity environment to grow small-batch crystals of key pharmaceutically relevant molecules. A new biotech investigation led by UAB focused on gaining a comprehensive understanding of mechanisms associated with heart disease caused by bacteria that causes Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Following successful on orbit operations, the heart tissue will now be studied by researchers at UAB. The MVP-Cell-09 investigation leveraged Redwire’s Multi-Use Variable-Gravity Platform (MVP) onboard the ISS to study how pneumonia damages the heart, identify factors that increase bacterial virulence, and pave the way for new treatments for this form of heart disease.
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