A Woodbridge-based biotech company has reserved space on the next commercial space station as it works to scale manufacturing of an artificial retina designed to restore vision in patients afflicted with degenerative eye diseases.
A Woodbridge-based biotech company has reserved space on the next commercial space station as it works to scale manufacturing of an artificial retina designed to restore vision in patients afflicted with degenerative eye diseases.
LambdaVision Inc. announced Tuesday morning that it has secured commercial space on Starlab, a commercial space station being developed by Starlab Space LLC, a joint venture led by Voyager Technologies.
Starlab is expected to help fill the gap left by the planned retirement of the International Space Station (ISS) in 2030.
LambdaVision has conducted nine missions to the ISS and has used the station’s microgravity environment to refine the manufacturing process for its protein-based artificial retina.
The device uses a photoactive protein to mimic the light-absorbing properties of human photoreceptors, replacing damaged cells in the retinas of patients with conditions including retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration.
Company officials say the reduced gravity of low-Earth orbit improves the stability and performance of the thin films used in the implant — conditions that are difficult to achieve on Earth.
Luis Zea, chief scientist at Starlab, said LambdaVision has demonstrated the scientific and engineering maturity needed to move from demonstration to scalable manufacturing.
The agreement comes as LambdaVision recently
closed a $7 million seed funding round co-led by Seven Seven Six and Aurelia Foundry Fund, with additional participation from Seraphim Space. The company said the funding provides a runway into 2027. LambdaVision has raised $22 million in total funding to date.
Beyond vision restoration, the company says its protein manufacturing platform has broader potential applications in biosensors, optical systems, tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Starlab Space is a U.S.-led joint venture that includes Voyager Technologies, Airbus, Mitsubishi Corp., MDA Space, Palantir Technologies and Space Applications Services, with partners including Hilton, Northrop Grumman and The Ohio State University.
