SpacePharma, a company registered in Switzerland with its development centre in Herzliya, Israel, and led by founder and chief executive Yossi Yamin, builds miniature automated laboratories, smaller than a shoebox, that run biology and chemistry experiments in orbit, controlled from Earth. Its EIC Accelerator project, SPACTORY, "revolutionising pharmaceutical development and manufacturing through microgravity", awarded to SpacePharma R&D Israel, receives an EU contribution of €2,184,053 and ran from August 2024 to September 2026, according to CORDIS. The goal was to qualify a 24-kilogram automated drug factory for spaceflight and "execute a commercial demonstration mission", producing crystals of a target monoclonal antibody.
The latest report describes design work: mechanical and electrical interfaces to ESA's Space Rider vehicle, the docking plate and cartridges completed, first versions of the flight computer and control boards designed, and thermal analysis for Space Rider orbits, according to CORDIS. Space Rider was first due to fly in 2023; its maiden flight is now planned for the first quarter of 2028, according to Wikipedia, citing European Spaceflight. On the science side, an antibody crystallisation experiment flew to the International Space Station in August 2025 to compare crystals grown in space and on Earth.
Company file
- Awardee
- SpacePharma R&D Israel Ltd, Herzliya Pituach
- Group
- SpacePharma, registered in Switzerland
- CEO
- Yossi Yamin, founder
- Product
- Miniature autonomous microgravity labs; SPACTORY factory
- Partners
- ESA, Roche Diagnostics (SPENCER mission)
- Flight vehicle for SPACTORY
- ESA Space Rider
- EIC funding
- Blended finance, €2.18M grant, €7.5M equity conditional
Where SpacePharma Stands Now
SpacePharma continues to sell research flights. It launched its tenth ISS lab in April 2026 with longevity and brain tumour experiments, and in May 2026 the SPENCER mission with Roche Diagnostics and ESA, which it calls its 14th mission to space, according to SpacePharma. The EIC committed to buy €7.5 million of shares on condition that SpacePharma raised the same from other investors, according to ynet. No such round has been announced. Its accounts are not public.
"These crystals allow for administration of smaller doses of the drug, which are released gradually into the bloodstream, enabling subcutaneous injections instead of IV infusions."
Yossi Yamin, founder and CEO, via the Davidson InstituteThe Technology: Crystals Grown Without Gravity
SpacePharma says antibodies crystallised in microgravity form three-dimensional structures that cannot be achieved under Earth's gravity, and that the stable crystals could replace intravenous infusions with smaller injected doses and avoid refrigeration. Its automated labs have flown to the ISS on SpaceX and Northrop Grumman cargo flights since at least 2023. SPACTORY would scale this from experiments to production, if a vehicle can carry and return it.
What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows
The design adaptation and scientific groundwork progressed, and ISS experiments on antibody crystallisation continued. But the commercial demonstration mission, the project's headline deliverable, depended on Space Rider, which will not fly before 2028. The project has ended without it.
- Adapt SPACTORY for flightDesign stageBoards, interfaces.
- Crystallisation scienceProgressingISS, August 2025.
- Commercial demonstration missionNot flownSpace Rider 2028.
- Matching equity for EICNot announcedNo round public.
The Money
The EIC's equity depends on SpacePharma finding co-investors. Whether it did, and whether the EIC Fund invested, is not public. The company's revenue from research missions is not disclosed.
What Cannot Be Checked
Questions for the EIC
Whether the EIC knew Space Rider's schedule risk when it funded a mission on it, whether SpacePharma raised the matching €7.5 million, and whether SPACTORY could fly on another vehicle are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
The EIC report ties SPACTORY to EU goals in health innovation and space commercialisation. Tying an EU-funded product to an ESA vehicle keeps the value chain European, but it also ties the company to European launch delays. SpacePharma's labs currently fly on American vehicles.
What the award promised
A qualified orbital drug factory and a commercial demonstration mission.
What the record shows
Flight hardware in design, ISS experiments, no demonstration mission.
The Verdict
Grounded by its ride
SpacePharma keeps flying small labs. The EIC-funded factory has to wait for a European spaceplane that is five years late.
SpacePharma and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.
