RadPharm – Space meets Pharma

Space Medicine and Space Medical Operations

The presentation will describe ESA’s approach to space medicine and medical operations for human spaceflight. It covers astronaut medical support across pre-flight, in-flight, landing, and post-flight phases. We will also discuss key health risks in space, including microgravity effects, radiation effects and other key factors affecting humans in space. It also outlines future exploration medical systems, technologies, and requirements for supporting missions beyond low Earth orbit.

Alzheimer’s in Transition—New Drugs, New Guidelines, New Perspectives

Alzheimer’s disease is currently undergoing a fundamental shift—from a purely clinically defined diagnosis of dementia to a biologically characterized disease. New biomarker assays in cerebrospinal fluid, PET, and, increasingly, in blood enable earlier and more precise diagnosis as early as the prodromal or preclinical stages. At the same time, disease-modifying therapies such as the anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies lecanemab and donanemab mark a therapeutic paradigm shift: for the first time, the progression of the disease can be measurably slowed.

The presentation highlights current developments in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, discusses new guidelines and challenges in clinical implementation, and addresses the importance of individualized risk-benefit assessments. In addition, future perspectives on prevention and early detection will be presented, with an increasing focus on presymptomatic stages and population-based strategies.

Unravel the impact of microbiota on the development of Alzheimer's disease under microgravity

A hallmark feature of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer´s or Parkinson´s disease, is the presence of aberrant protein aggregates in the brain and other organs. Their primary constituents, amyloid proteins, have emerged as crucial players in the etiopathogenesis of neurodegeneration. Interestingly, human amyloid proteins appear to be molecules which possess also antimicrobial functions.  
In the meantime, various microbial organisms from the oral and the gut microbiome have been linked to these diseases. Interestingly, numerous microbes of the oral cavity and the gut are also known to produce amyloidogenic proteins.  
Since microgravity has been shown to assist in the exploration of human amyloid proteins, this environmental condition could be very attractive for the study of microbial amyloids, too. The same holds true for the investigation of neuroinflammation, oxidative stress and the role of mitochondrial dysfunction, all further hallmarks of the development of Alzheimer´s disease.  
However, studying the connection between neurodegenerative diseases and the microbiome under microgravity is a highly interdisciplinary problem involving microbiology, neuroscience, space biology, immunology, and bioengineering. 

From Protein Crystallization to Functional Tau Phase Separation

Perspectives in Structural Biology under Microgravity

Methods of protein crystallization and phenomena of biomolecular phase separation offer complementary perspectives for understanding and specifically influencing the self-organization of biomolecules. This presentation combines earlier experiments on protein crystallization under microgravity [1] with ongoing experiments analyzing the liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of the tau protein [2].

Tau is an intrinsically disordered neuronal protein of the central nervous system. Aggregated tau forms a major component of the fibrils observed in Alzheimer’s disease. In vitro, polyanionic cofactors such as RNA or heparin can trigger phase separation of the tau protein. Under certain conditions, the condensates can form gel-like states and promote the formation of fibrils, which can trigger further pathological tau aggregation [3, 4]. The aggregation of tau in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders underscores the importance of structural dynamics and, consequently, the need to analyze the molecular mechanisms underlying this aggregation in detail using complementary bioanalytical methods.

Crystallization experiments conducted under microgravity have shown that the incorporation of disruptive protein aggregates into the growing crystals under study is reduced. This can contribute to improved crystal quality for subsequent X-ray structural analysis [1]. Both reduced sedimentation and reduced convection favor diffusion-dominated mass transport. Density fluctuations near a metastable critical point, followed by phase separation and crystal nucleation, form a conceptual bridge to biomolecular phase separation [5].

A particular focus of our research to date has been the complementary use of dynamic light scattering (DLS), depolarized dynamic light scattering (DDLS), and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Time-resolved DLS (trDLS) tracks the evolution of hydrodynamic parameters and, for example, the early kinetics of tau condensation [2, 4]. Furthermore, DDLS can be used to distinguish protein nanocrystals from amorphous aggregates and protein-rich liquid condensates based on their optical anisotropy [6]. Applying these methods to analyze the ordering processes in tau condensates offers a way to better investigate and understand the formation of pathological fibrils. In our studies on suramin-induced tau phase separation, we were able to track the condensation dynamics using trDLS; complementary SAXS measurements characterized the dimensions of monomeric tau protein [4]. This provides starting points for the search for modulators that, for example, dissolve tau condensates or prevent their transition to aggregation-inducing tau species [4].

It is interesting to discuss whether comparative studies conducted under microgravity and at 1 g can demonstrate whether different molecular transport and encounter processes in solution influence the formation of tau condensates and subsequent gel formation. The goal could be to mechanistically distinguish between functional self-organization and a possible transition to pathological aggregation.

Research and Manufacturing in Space - From “Rocket Science” to a Gravity Switch

Research in microgravity now has a history spanning more than half a century—over 50 years of research in medicine, biotechnology, biology, and more. And yet, the use of microgravity remains a niche application.

This is primarily due to the enormous complexity associated with research and manufacturing in space. In particular, risk management and the necessary certification of payloads transported into space entail high costs, long lead times, and significant project risks. That is why Tumbleweed is developing certification-free access to space, which allows hardware to be sent into space quickly, easily, and at a fraction of the certification cost. The goal is to make microgravity readily accessible to all laboratories and companies.

With the first mission—Oasis Alpha, Austria’s first commercial satellite—four payloads were launched into Earth orbit in July. The presentation will cover the current status and recent developments in research and manufacturing in microgravity. Furthermore, Oasis Alpha will be presented, and using the four payloads on board as an example, the presentation will demonstrate how companies and laboratories that have never previously operated in space can send payloads into orbit in just a few months for less than 30kEUR.

Radiodiagnostics & Radiopharmaceuticals – Production Today in Seibersdorf, Tomorrow in Space?

With the pointedly worded title of my presentation, I would like to address the core theme of our conference.

Taking today’s challenges in radiopharmacy as our starting point, we will venture a look into the future. What possibilities does research in microgravity open up? How can the technologies established in Seibersdorf and the radiopharmaceutical expertise contribute to this field in the future?

The requirements for GMP-compliant manufacturing of radiopharmaceuticals will continue to rise in the future, particularly in light of the new development and production opportunities we are exploring today. The range of necessary services—from process development and quality control to clinical production—will grow in importance. In my presentation, I will also provide a brief overview of our company’s current contributions to the development of innovative radiodiagnostics and radiotherapeutics.

After all, the foundation for tomorrow’s medicine is already being laid today, including here in Seibersdorf.

Data Transfer from Space – Upstream & Downstream: From Orbital Experiments to Clinical Application

New Space is fundamentally changing access to microgravity research. Increasing launch frequencies, standardized payloads, COTS technologies, and commercial access to orbit are making it increasingly possible to view experiments in space not just as isolated, hard-to-access missions, but as a repeatable research infrastructure.

For the life sciences, Alzheimer’s research, and radiopharmaceuticals, this development opens up new perspectives. Orbital experiments can help investigate biological processes such as protein folding, cellular stress, neuroinflammation, or neurodegenerative mechanisms under specific physical conditions. What is crucial here is not merely the technical downlink of data, but its structured translation into scientifically and clinically actionable insights.

The presentation highlights the interface between upstream and downstream activities: from New Space infrastructure, payload design, and data acquisition in microgravity to the question of how this can generate momentum for biomarkers, radiotracer development, and, in the long term, clinical applications. The focus is on the thesis that New Space not only makes microgravity more accessible but, above all, more reproducible, and that this very reproducibility is a key prerequisite for translational research.

Thus, “Data Transfer from Space” refers not only to the technical transmission of data from orbit, but also to the transfer of infrastructure, data, and innovative approaches from the New Space ecosystem to medical and radiopharmaceutical research.

Quantum Advantage - Was Quantum Computing, Sensing und Communication für die Pharmaforschung leisten können

Quantum technologies promise a wide array of opportunities to advance pharmaceutical companies. Quantum computing, communication and sensing are distinct avenues of different maturity and applicability, yet each possesses great potential to disrupt current standards. Quantum computing (also in conjunction with quantum machine learning) is being invested in by leading pharmaceutical companies for drug discovery, protein folding, target identification, and can be applied to supply chain and clinical trial optimization. Communication of critical data needs to be quantum secure today to avoid decryption tomorrow. As quantum sensors are being already used in labs, further improvements and new technologies for bio marker detection, drug delivery and imaging with, e.g., quantum dots or NV centers, could make them mainstream in biomedical applications. 

The first part of the talk will provide a general overview of quantum technologies in pharmaceutical research and development, using Alzheimer's disease diagnostics and drug discovery as a case study to illustrate their potential in an area of high unmet medical need. The second part turns to quantum communication, addressing why quantum-secure data transmission, including satellite-based approaches, is becoming a near-term consideration for safeguarding sensitive research and clinical data.

Pharma, Science and Space

Performing research in space as part of a pharmaceutical development program is not an obvious approach.  Late in my career at Eli Lilly and Co. I was presented with the opportunity to do work that would be flown to the International Space Station. This work has taken me and my career in an entirely new direction.  One that has been beneficial to my career and has the potential to be beneficial to the pharmaceutical industry. In this presentation I will describe the events that have led me to this point and describe how this approach can made to work at other pharmaceutical companies and in other industries. 

Microgravity Crystallization: Revolutionizing High-Concentration Biologics and the Transition to Commercial LEO Platforms

There is a critical clinical need for high-concentration biologic suspensions to transition intravenous formulations into patient-friendly subcutaneous injections. While crystallization is well-established for small molecules, historical biologic examples remain limited. To optimize drug delivery, a Merck laboratory team, in partnership with the ISS National Lab, investigated monoclonal antibody crystallization—including pembrolizumab—across four SpaceX cargo resupply missions, executing 16 microgravity experiments. Developing high-concentration biologics on Earth faces severe physical limitations due to gravity-driven convection and sedimentation, which disrupt molecular packing to yield highly viscous, heterogeneous suspensions. Conversely, microgravity eliminates buoyancy-driven flaws, offering a revolutionary pathway to produce uniform, monodisperse suspensions that improve Earth-based drug delivery, bioprocessing, and long-term storage. To expand low Earth orbit (LEO) biomanufacturing, Space Biologics Rx LLC advises space hardware developers and commercial station providers on weightless processing operations. This abstract outlines strategic operational recommendations for navigating the retirement of the ISS and transitioning technical assets to the commercial sector, highlighting the necessity of a novel public-private partnership model integrating government, academic, and industrial stakeholders.

Moderation of the Expert Panel