Redwire Launches SpaceMD To Grow Drug Seed Crystals In Orbit; Inks Licensing Deal With ExesaLibero For Bone Disease Therapy

Redwire Corporation (NYSE:RDW), a global leader in space and defense technology solutions, today announced that it has formed a new entity, SpaceMD, which will focus on growing seed crystals in orbit that will be used on Earth to create new and reformulated pharmaceuticals.

SpaceMD will take advantage of the unique microgravity environment in space through the use of Redwire's innovative and flight-proven Pharmaceutical In-Space Laboratory (PIL-BOX) technology to grow the seed crystals. 28 PIL-BOX systems have already flown in space and have successfully crystalized 17 compounds on the ISS, including insulin and other critical molecules. SpaceMD will sell or license these seed crystals to companies that can use them to create reformulated versions of existing drugs or entirely new therapeutics.

As part of this launch, SpaceMD announced a trailblazing licensing agreement with ExesaLibero Pharma, Inc., an innovative pharmaceutical company developing new small molecule drugs to treat bone disease. Under the terms of the agreement, ExesaLibero Pharma will work with SpaceMD to advance and enhance its groundbreaking small-molecule drug ELP-004 and other relevant compounds via the PIL-BOX system. This drug could hold the key to controlling the insidious bone erosion that numerous debilitating diseases cause, such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple myeloma, diabetes, periodontal disease, and tuberculosis.

The results of these microgravity investigations will inform ExesaLibero Pharma's Investigative New Drug (IND) application to the Food and Drug Agency (FDA). Following the approval of the IND by the FDA, ExesaLibero Pharma expects to initiate clinical trials that will lead to full approval of the drug for clinical use. Through this first-of-its-kind agreement, SpaceMD will receive royalties from any commercial sales of resulting pharmaceutical products.