A single spaceflight could help make medicine for millions of patients, Michael Reilly, chief strategy officer of Varda Space Industries, told Benzinga in an exclusive interview.
The $1.6 billion startup manufactures drug crystals in orbit and brings them back to Earth. For certain medicines, small quantities of those crystals could be used to produce much larger amounts on the ground.
“One flight could be enough to make enough drug for millions of people,” Reilly said.
How One Spaceflight Could Supply Millions
Varda launches automated pharmaceutical factories aboard SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) rockets to take advantage of near-weightlessness.
Without the usual effects of gravity, drug ingredients can form crystals in ways that are difficult to achieve on Earth.
“Some of these small molecules … can be brought back as seed quantity and then you can make as much material as you want on Earth,” Reilly said.
Different crystal structures could help drugs dissolve more easily in the body, potentially making treatments more effective or easier to administer.
A 2025 study involving Redwire Corp. (NYSE:RDW) and Butler University showed that certain space-grown crystal forms could be reproduced through ten successive generations on Earth.
Reilly suggested that even if a Varda mission cost a couple of million dollars, the expense could be spread across millions of patients.
Varda’s W-7 mission, launched Oct. 20, is studying how experimental cancer-drug compounds crystallize in microgravity.
What Comes Next for Varda
Varda depends on SpaceX for transportation, but the rocket company needs much of its launch capacity for itself. Through September, 81 of SpaceX’s 110 Falcon launches primarily served its own operations, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
On Polymarket, traders give SpaceX a roughly 72% chance of completing 140–159 launches this year, compared with 170 in 2025. About $346,000 has been traded.
A reduction in launches could leave less capacity for customers such as Varda, although Reilly said the company has already secured Falcon 9 reservations for the next couple of years.
Reilly previously told Benzinga that SpaceX could keep the savings from cheaper Starship launches rather than pass them on to customers.
Meanwhile, Varda is working with United Therapeutics Corp. (NASDAQ:UTHR) to develop improved formulations for rare pulmonary diseases, with its first joint space mission planned for 2027.
Reilly expects space-enabled medicines to reach human testing within five years.
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