BioOrbit secures world’s largest seed round for in-space manufacturing

BioOrbit, the pioneering in-space drug manufacturing company founded by Dr Katie King and Co-Founder Oncology Researcher Dr Leonor Teles, has raised £9.8m ($13.2m) in seed funding. BioOrbit’s solution enables the usage of microgravity to develop crystals of biological drugs at scale that will transform how life-saving treatments reach patients worldwide.  

This landmark round, co-led by LocalGlobe and Breega, with support from Auxxo, Seedcamp, Type One, 7 percent and angels, is the world’s largest seed round for in-space manufacturing and is unlocking the ability to produce high-value drugs at scale, in orbit for the first time.

Currently, 70% of the highest-grossing drugs globally are administered intravenously in clinical settings. BioOrbit is on a mission to use the microgravity environment found in Low-Earth Orbit to reformulate them as subcutaneous, self-injectable treatments - shifting hospital treatments, including cancer care from hospital to home.

This is made possible by BOX, a compact, modular, autonomous manufacturing unit (the size of a microwave) deployed in microgravity, which moves crystallisation from a one-off experiment to industry-ready scale, enabling better-performing biologics through formulation pathways not achievable on Earth.

The capital will accelerate BioOrbit’s transition to industrial deployment, converting microgravity breakthroughs into contracted pharmaceutical programs. To accelerate this next phase, BioOrbit has appointed Dr. Molly Mulligan, President of BioOrbit Inc. who has been leading at the intersection of pharma and space for over 12 years, signing the first in-orbit pharmaceutical royalty agreement, along with Dr. Ken Savin, Chief Science Officer, formerly Chief Science Officer at Redwire, who brings together two decades at Eli Lilly, with ISS R&D leadership in the commercialisation of microgravity. Together, alongside the founders, they will drive BioOrbit's transition from breakthrough science to scalable pharmaceutical manufacturing in microgravity.

Dr. Katie King, Founder and CEO of BioOrbit, said: 

This is a huge step-change in drug delivery and economics. Our focus from day one has been scale, moving beyond experimental results to industrial production, where no existing solution has succeeded. We are now enabling the creation of more perfect, highly ordered crystals that unlock drug formulations not achievable on Earth. It is a paradigm shift for cancer therapies and for the pharmaceutical industry at large, as we’re enabling manufacturing at scale in orbit for the first time.

How it works: 

High-concentration antibody therapies are often too viscous for self-administration. BioOrbit's proprietary microgravity crystallisation process overcomes this by transforming protein-based drugs into highly ordered crystalline forms. This enables injectable formats patients can self-administer at home, reducing costs, extending the commercial lifecycle of key therapeutics and fundamentally improving access to life-saving treatments.

BioOrbit has already attracted interest from the NHS and the UK Space Agency, and is spearheading pharmaceutical regulations in space with the MHRA, Regulatory Innovation Office and CAA.

Julia Hawkins, General Partner at Phoenix Court, the home of LocalGlobe, co-lead investor in BioOrbit, said:

BioOrbit turns space into pharmaceutical infrastructure. By using microgravity to create drug formulations that aren’t possible on Earth, they can shift cancer treatment from hospital to home. This is a fundamental rewrite of how medicines are manufactured and delivered. We’re proud to partner with Dr Katie King and Dr Leonor Teles as they build the future of medicine.

Matthieu Vallin, Partner at Breega, Co-lead investor in BioOrbit, said:

We couldn't think of a better use of space than to advance cancer treatments. Katie and Leonor are building a world-class team to harness the unique properties up there that are irreproducible on Earth - we're excited to see them make this a reality.

Major Tim Peake, British European Astronaut, said: 

BioOrbit is turning bold imagination into real-world progress - pioneering the future by using exciting innovations in crystallisation of protein drugs in space to improve life on Earth. Their record-breaking seed round demonstrates the real market potential of what space-manufacturing can bring.

Lord David Willetts, Chair of the UK Space Agency, said:

Manufacturing in space is one of the big new opportunities opening up as launch costs fall and robotics advance. BioOrbit is an exciting British start-up well-placed to take advantage of this - with extraordinary innovations in the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies.

Liz Lloyd, Space Minister, said:

In-orbit manufacturing is a priority capability for this government, and BioOrbit — a company we have been proud to support — is a compelling example of what world-leading UK innovation looks like in practice. By harnessing the unique environment of space to make pharmaceutical-grade materials, BioOrbit is not only advancing the UK’s position at the forefront of the global space economy, but doing so in a way that could transform outcomes for cancer patients. This funding round is a strong signal of international confidence in UK space manufacturing expertise, and I look forward to seeing BioOrbit take this breakthrough science to the next stage.