Pharmaceutical scientists are opposed to the harsh restrictions here on Earth: gravity. Varda Space wants to change that.
The company is sourced large new rounds, turning space into “ultimate highlands” and producing key pharmaceutical ingredients that can be used to bring back to Earth and make finished medicines.
The company's $187 million Series C funding round announced Thursday will be used to build a new laboratory facility that can turn Varda's orbital manufacturing process into a lucrative intellectual property generation machine.
The 10,000-square-foot love space in El Segundo, California will allow Varda drug scientists to determine whether biology such as proteins and antibodies are the most promising candidates for space-based crystallization. They essentially perform “advanced work” to determine which assets are good candidates for orbital missions and which conditions are passed through space.
“Companies can do process engineering to understand what temperatures and conditions pre-crystallize, so once they get on track, the bioreactor knows what to do,” Asparrowhoff said.
Varda is talking to major pharmaceutical manufacturers who struggle with certain issues, such as the crystallization of certain ingredients and issues with drug purity and shelf stability. The company's aim is to solve those problems using labs and orbital spacecraft, and the process allows the generation of patented IPs and licensed to drug makers.
The lab offers the opportunity for companies to generate intellectual property that can prove even more valuable in the drug production lifecycle. Asparouhov said he expects much more Varda patents to be filed once the lab comes online.
The new funding was led by companies Natural Capital and Shrug Capital, with additional contributions from Peter Thiel, Lux Capital, Khosla Ventures and Caffeinated Capital. Asparouhov is a partner in the Founders Fund, and Thiel co-founded 20 years ago, formerly the principal of Khosla.
Varda has launched and returned three successful missions so far since 2023. The company expects to complete four missions this year alone.
During the first three missions, Varda housed the manufacturing modules in space inside a spacecraft built by a rocket lab. The company has since adopted all of its spacecraft production in-house. Varda is building two spacecrafts this year, aiming to double its manufacturing cadence by four next year.
The company also generates revenue by turning the spacecraft into a US Department of Defense postponed flight bed. Historically, high-sonic flight tests have had long lead times and Sky High prices, but Varda is proposing launch and return cadences and new opportunities to recover tested materials.