SpaceLinTech, a startup that conducts pharmaceutical research in space, has sent a new space medicine experiment module to the International Space Station.
The company said on the 14th that it is beginning an experiment to study protein crystallization aboard the ISS. SpaceLinTech built the protein crystallization module BEE-PC2 and launched it aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on the 13th. The rocket is scheduled to reach the ISS at around 11 p.m. on the 15th, Korea time.
SpaceLinTech studies protein crystallization processes and crystal structures in low-gravity environments. Pharmaceutical and biotech companies analyze protein structures when developing new drug candidates. The problem is that crystallization on the ground is affected by gravity, making it difficult to obtain crystals suitable for structural analysis. The weaker the gravity, by contrast, the more uniform the crystals that can be formed. For that reason, the pharmaceutical and biotech industry has shown interest in conducting protein crystallization experiments in space, and SpaceLinTech is a contract research organization that targets that demand by carrying out space medicine experiments on behalf of clients. The company is building an integrated CRO service that spans the selection of target proteins and compounds, the operation of space experiments, sample recovery and structural analysis of the resulting complexes.
The main experiment carried out with BEE-PC2 is the co-crystallization of target proteins and small-molecule compounds that are candidates for new drugs. The aim is to grow crystals of protein-compound complexes in the low-gravity environment of space and confirm their potential for drug development through structural analysis. Co-crystal structures help researchers understand, at the atomic level, where and in what form a candidate compound binds to a target protein. Such information is used to confirm binding patterns, design drugs based on structure and optimize candidate substances. This is the second time SpaceLinTech has launched a space medicine experiment module to the ISS, following one last year.
Earlier, on the 7th of this month, SpaceLinTech sent BEE-1012, a small satellite equipped for pharmaceutical experiments, into space on the fifth launch of the Nuri rocket. The company is developing both the ISS-based BEE-PC series and the standalone satellite-based BEE-1000 series.
Yoon Hak-soon, chief executive of SpaceLinTech, said BEE-PC2 is an important step in proving the potential of space pharmaceutical technology and developing it into an actual service. "We will expand our services so that global pharmaceutical and biotech companies can use the space environment for drug development," the CEO said.