Space Station Research Informs New FDA-Approved Cancer Therapy
NASA is opening the International Space Station to scientists and researchers, inviting them to use the benefits of microgravity for commercial and public research, technology demonstrations and more. Today, some of the crew’s time aboard the station is devoted to private industry, including medical research that addresses complex health issues on Earth and prepares astronauts for future missions to deep space.
In collaboration with Merck scientists, research into protein crystal growth on the space station has yielded preliminary insights into the structure and size of particles best suited for developing a new formulation of the company’s anticancer drug, pembrolizumab, for subcutaneous injection. This new route of administration was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September and provides a time-saving alternative to intravenous infusion for some patients. These research efforts aboard the space station were supported by the ISS National Laboratory.
Originally, the treatment was administered during an office visit by infusion into the patient’s veins, a process that could take up to two hours. Initial improvements in delivery reduced infusion times to less than 30 minutes every three weeks. The newly approved subcutaneous injectable form takes about one minute every three weeks, promising to improve patients’ quality of life by reducing costs and significantly reducing treatment time for patients and healthcare providers.
Since 2014, Merck has carried out crystal growth experiments to the space station to better understand how crystals form, including the monoclonal antibody used in this cancer treatment. Monoclonal antibodies are proteins made in a laboratory that help the body fight disease. This research aimed to produce crystalline suspensions that easily dissolve in liquid, allowing the drug to be administered by injection. In microgravity, the absence of the physical forces of gravity allows scientists to produce larger, more uniform, and higher quality crystals than those grown in ground-based laboratories, thereby advancing drug development and structural modeling.
Research conducted aboard the space station has provided valuable information on how gravity influences crystallization, helping to improve drug formulations. The work of NASA and its partners aboard the space station improves life on Earth, develops a commercial economy in low Earth orbit, and prepares for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
