In November 2023, Redwire and Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) teamed up for the first spaceflight investigation using Redwire’s PIL-BOX, a unique platform that offers pharmaceutical companies and biomedical researchers novel and flexible services to study small-batch crystal growth of proteins. The investigation, named PIL-01, launched to the ISS on SpaceX’s 29th cargo resupply mission (SpX-29) for NASA and included experiments focused on developing advanced treatments for chronic diseases.

Following successful on-orbit operations and return to Earth for analysis by the Lilly team, this first space mission (PIL-01) demonstrated value in continued missions to conduct further microgravity research in the name of speeding discovery & development of potential medicines for patients.

Initial findings from the PIL-01 investigation have demonstrated that insulin crystals grown on the ISS using the PIL-BOX FC system are larger and more highly ordered than crystals grown on Earth.

Watch the video below to see the space crystals being returned to Lilly for analysis and learn more about the results:

Following the success of PIL-01, a second spaceflight investigation with Redwire and Lilly, PIL-02, is in the works. Set to launch onboard SpX-30 to the ISS, the PIL-02 investigation will hopefully add a deeper understanding of crystal growth that can benefit pharmaceutical companies.

Understanding crystal growth and design can inform the entire drug discovery and development and design process for small molecule and large biomolecule pharmaceuticals as companies look to deliver new, optimized treatments to help patients.

PIL-BOX is designed to offer pharmaceutical companies and researchers novel and flexible services to leverage the microgravity environment to grow small-batch crystals of protein-based pharmaceuticals and other key pharmaceutically relevant molecules.

Read more about the PIL-02 investigation here. Hear from the Redwire, Lilly, and NASA teams on the “Medicine in Space” panel here.