Spaceplane’s First Flight To Station Advances Therapy Delivery

Sierra Space announced that its Dream Chaser spaceplane will be carrying a research platform developed by pharmaceutical company Merck to study formulations of monoclonal antibody therapies for cancer treatment when it travels to the International Space Station.

Although no firm date has been announced yet for the Dream Chaser’s first mission to the ISS, Sierra Space said it would be no earlier than May 2025. The research is intended to utilize the effects of microgravity to develop high-concentration suspensions that could facilitate the improved delivery of therapeutic drugs.

Such new formulations could enable the creation of therapies with greater stability and allow for storage without refrigeration. They could also potentially enable subcutaneous injection rather than requiring  intravenous transfusion.

This is the first news of a commercial contract partner for Dream Chaser’s upcoming mission. The spaceplane is able to horizontally take off and land on a typical aircraft runway, which will help ensure the survivability of sensitive biopharmaceuticals compared to water landings. The company says that runway landings subject the research materials to no more than 1.5 g.

Paul Reichert, Merck Principal Investigator said, “We know there are vast benefits to conducting science experiments in low-Earth orbit, but we also need to safely return the results of these experiments back to Earth. Dream Chaser’s ability to safely return payloads from the ISS laboratory via the same runway as a commercial airplane will greatly increase the survival rate of these delicate materials and hopefully accelerate the advancements of critical treatments.”

FMI:  www.sierraspace.com/