Two British companies have raised funds from investors to develop satellites for the production of drugs and chips in space. CEO of Space Pharma Yossi Yamin: This shows that we are not the only crazy people and that even the capital market recognizes the manufacturing market in space
Manufacturing in space is an emerging market that several startups are betting to take off in the coming years. Analysts estimate that the market for pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, health products and food produced in space may reach more than 10 billion dollars by 2030.
Space offers unique conditions such as radiation, microgravity and vacuum that enable new production methods that are not possible on Earth.
Value of half a billion dollars
The British start-up Verde Space Industries, which has so far raised 53 million dollars at a value of 500 million, is about to compete with the Israeli Spice Pharma. The company aims to help pharmaceutical companies improve existing drugs or develop new ones by producing active raw materials in space. Studies show that protein crystals grown in microgravity are of higher quality than on Earth. Understanding the crystal structure of a protein provides insights into designing better drugs. Verde plans to produce small quantities of key drug ingredients in space, rather than whole drugs. Their target drugs generate billions in annual revenue, but require small crystalline quantities that match Verde's manufacturing capabilities.
The company ordered four Photon model satellites from Rocket Lab with the aim of turning them into medical laboratories in space.
Space Forge, a British start-up company that has so far raised $10 million at a valuation of about $100 million, of which about $450 from the British Space Agency in June of this year, plans to establish factories in space for the production of next-generation semiconductors using non-silicon materials .
The goal is to produce semiconductor substrates that allow 10-100 times performance improvements for applications such as 5G and electric vehicles. Refining semiconductor crystals in microgravity is key to achieving this progress. Space Forge will create the crystals in space and then replicate the growth on Earth. This avoids the need to constantly launch into space to produce on a large scale.
"Once we've made these crystals in space, we can bring them back to the ground and we can effectively replicate that growth on Earth," Josh Western, CEO and co-founder of Space Forge told the authors of a review published on CNBC. You have to fly into space countless times to build chips in large quantities. We can simply operate with our FAB partners and customers on the ground."
The two start-ups plan to launch compact satellites with independent laboratories for the production of materials. The products will return to Earth in capsules so that they can be further processed and turned into drugs or semiconductors. Verde is working with Rocket Lab to launch their first satellite, while Space Forge has contracted with SpaceX. The startups aim to prove the value of manufacturing in space and establish a sustainable commercial market.
Yossi Yamin, CEO of Spice Pharma The fact that there are competitors is good news
The CEO of Spice Pharma, Yossi Yamin, says in a conversation with the Hedaan site that this means that the market is alive and breathing. Among the investors in Varda's latest fundraiser, which was done according to a value of half a billion dollars, is also Peter Till, who was a partner of Elon Musk in PayPal.
"Verda has launched an autonomous spacecraft with an AIDS virus research laboratory. They also plan to land the spacecraft that is on SpaceX's Falcon 9 launcher."
"This indicates that the pharmaceutical field in space is becoming a serious and competitive market. I think more companies will emerge, among others from India and France. In the US, a new company called Vector Space Biosciences has been founded and is about to launch laboratories like ours on an autonomous satellite with Nvidia cards.
The fact that there are competitors is good and shows that I am not the only crazy one and also the financial market is ripe. Yamin explains. Spice Pharma has so far raised 12 million dollars and received another 8 million in grants.
First approval of its kind by USPTO
For the first time in the world, Space Pharma received permission to produce a drug in space until mid-2041, where the drug will be revealed in the coming month. This is a commercial drug that sells over a billion dollars a year. It's a crazy success, we worked hard for it.
In conclusion, Yamin says: "The market is waking up to two disciplines that have not been talked about until today - the production of medicines in space and the field of repatriation from space."
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