A California-based startup has just taken its vision of in-orbit manufacturing to the big leagues, signing a major deal with a pharmaceutical company to explore developing new, improved versions of its drugs in space. Varda Space Industries announced a collaboration with United Therapeutics Corporation to study the use of microgravity in developing improved formulations of medicines for rare pulmonary diseases (progressive lung disorders). The company will fly small-molecule drugs on board its orbital capsules, where they will be allowed to crystallize in the microgravity environment. “Microgravity gives us a fundamentally different environment to manufacture pharmaceuticals that are otherwise impossible on Earth,” Will Bruey, CEO of Varda Space Industries, said in a statement. “Our collaboration with United Therapeutics strives to pioneer a new era in clinical development by completing the bridge from microgravity science to patient benefit on Earth.” Made in space The idea of in-orbit manufacturing has been around for decades but has mostly been explored on board the International Space Station (ISS). Scientists learned that microgravity changes how materials form, removing convection, sedimentation, and other gravity-driven forces that affect the growth of crystals on Earth. The end result: purer crystals with more uniform structures, and possibly entirely new properties for materials.