Varda Space’s Success with Orbital Drug Factory Drives $90M in New Funding

Varda Space Industries has recently secured a significant funding round of $90 million in Series B financing, shortly after the successful return of its first drug manufacturing capsule from orbit. This funding round marks a pivotal moment for the company, transitioning from its initial demonstration mission to scaling up operations for regular missions carrying customer payloads, according to Varda founder Delian Asparouhov.

Founded in 2021 and based in El Segundo, Varda aims to commercialize microgravity research on pharmaceutical crystals, which was previously limited in scale. While drug crystallization experiments in microgravity have been conducted by astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) and the Space Shuttle, the business case for expanding this research has been challenging until now.

Several factors have contributed to the growing feasibility of Varda’s mission. Firstly, advancements in the space industry, including regular, low-cost rideshare launches provided by companies like SpaceX and Rocket Lab, have lowered the barrier to entry. Additionally, Varda has made significant progress in developing its own technology and expertise, demonstrated by the flawless performance of its first mission, which successfully reformulated the HIV medicine ritonavir.

Moreover, Varda has begun sharing the results of its internal research and development efforts, including a scientific paper on its hyper-gravity crystallization platform. This platform enables experiments to be conducted under conditions of increased gravity, offering a novel approach to scientific research by manipulating gravity as a variable.

Overall, Varda’s Series B funding round underscores the increasing interest and investment in space-based research and commercialization, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry.