Voyager Awarded Cancer Research Mission Management Contract

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Voyager Technologies signed a contract with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space to manage Symphony Biosciences’ biopolymer cancer implant experiment aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The contract underscores the continued demand for access to low-Earth orbit for biopharmaceutical research.

“Our mission management service exists to clear the obstacles between breakthrough research and low-Earth orbit,” said Scott Rodriguez, vice president, Government Programs, Voyager. “Microgravity provides a cancer research environment where tumor cells form complex, three-dimensional structures that are obscured in Earth cultures, and our role is to make sure nothing stands between companies like Symphony Biosciences and unlocking better ways to fight cancer and improve life on Earth.”

Under the contract, Voyager will adapt Symphony Biosciences’ sample hardware to station equipment, ensure the clearing of NASA safety reviews and manage integration and stowage for launch. From the Voyager mission operations room, mission managers will oversee on-orbit operations like incubation and fluorescence reading, including assisting astronauts in running the experiment. When the study concludes, Voyager will return all samples and data, as well as provide post-flight and close-out reporting.

The research focuses on testing SymphNode, a device designed to restore the body’s immune response under immunosuppressive conditions, recruiting and activating a patient’s T cells to fight their cancer. The study aboard the ISS is looking to replicate the in vitro studies done on Earth with human T cells and tumor cells to assess the efficacy of immune cells that were trained in SymphNode.

Voyager has two decades of flight heritage across more than 1,400 missions and is prepared to seamlessly bridge operations from the ISS to next-generation commercial platforms, including Starlab.