As global big pharma companies like Merck and Eli Lilly engage in space medicine research, experts suggest that for South Korea to keep pace in microgravity research, it must deepen its understanding of the space environment. They also advised that due to the high difficulty of space medicine research, researchers must successfully navigate bottlenecks where they might otherwise abandon their work.
Merck has succeeded in an experiment to produce its cancer immunotherapy drug 'Keytruda' as high-purity crystals in space. Eli Lilly is developing new drugs, including diabetes treatments, using microgravity.
At a symposium commemorating the opening of the Catholic Institute for Space Medicine, held at the Plenty Convention in Omnipark on the Catholic University of Korea's Seong-ui Campus on the 16th, Professor Cho Young-jae of Seoul National University College of Medicine said, "Big pharma companies are jumping into space medicine research, which is currently led by the U.S., Japan, and Europe." He added, "Even at this moment, about 10 people, including astronaut Jonny Kim, are conducting experiments on the International Space Station (ISS)."
He continued, "While Korea's technology in the bio-health sector is advancing, its integration with space is still in its nascent stages." He explained, "Space medicine research is important because gravity, a constant that cannot be changed on Earth, becomes a variable in space, and science values the 'y' value that changes with variables."
Experts collectively point out that to achieve results in space medicine, a deeper understanding of the space environment is essential. Professor Kim Kyu-sung of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Inha University College of Medicine stated, "Space technology and ground technology are distinct. Even if a ground technology is validated in orbit and the resulting substance is brought back to Earth, it cannot be immediately used as a drug." He added, "We must keep in mind that a space technology with a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 7 in orbit could become a 2 or 3 on Earth."
Although Merck created high-purity crystals in space, it does not bring those crystals back to Earth for application in pharmaceuticals. Instead, Merck used the insights from its space research to develop a ground-based process for creating high-purity crystals, leading to the development of an improved formulation. This implies that a better understanding of the space environment can diversify the ways research results are applied.
An opinion was also presented that the field of space medicine in Korea is growing explosively. Professor Kim said, "The domestic space medicine field is growing explosively and has a bright future." He explained, "This is because Korea is very strong in ground-based technologies, the leadership of the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) will continue to develop, and the country has a well-established system for industrialization."
However, he explained that given the difficulty of space medicine research, a small number of researchers are likely to dominate future achievements. He elaborated that because space medicine research involves enormous costs, is difficult to accumulate experience in, and presents challenges in producing results like papers or intellectual property, a core group that navigates these bottlenecks will be the ones to survive.
