NASA has been at the forefront of drug development in microgravity for decades, starting with the Space Shuttle program and continuing with the International Space Station (ISS). Recent successes include the development of a more uniform crystalline form of the cancer drug Keytruda in 2019, which could allow for easier administration to patients. Varda Space Industries has taken this research further by launching small, uncrewed capsules equipped with autonomous bioreactors that can process pharmaceuticals in microgravity. Since mid-2023, Varda has launched several of these vehicles. The company recently announced a significant collaboration with United Therapeutics Corporation to leverage microgravity's effects on drug properties to enhance treatments for rare lung diseases. Delian Asparouhov, Varda's president and co-founder, emphasized the importance of this moment, noting that it marks the first time a publicly traded company is investing its own resources to produce a product in microgravity, indicating a promising future for the orbital economy.