LambdaVision, a Woodbridge biotech developing a protein-based artificial retina, has announced a strategic partnership with Helogen Corporation to launch a joint orbital manufacturing mission targeting patients affected by retinal degenerative diseases.
The mission, planned for the second half of 2026, will mark LambdaVision's first spaceflight outside the International Space Station (ISS). The company has completed nine ISS missions over the past decade demonstrating that microgravity conditions, which reduce sedimentation and fluid-driven disturbances, enable improved uniformity, stability, and performance of the multilayered protein films that form the artificial retina.
The orbital mission will use Helogen's fully autonomous manufacturing system in low-Earth orbit to evaluate technological capabilities for scalable, regulated biomaterial production. The effort is designed as a full operational validation, covering ground preparation, flight qualification, in-orbit manufacturing, sample return, and custody transfer. Real-time data collection will begin days after launch, supporting the company's planning for long-term or non-return space flights.
"The space-based research we have been conducting on the ISS over the past decade has allowed us to make significant strides in our development of manufacturing technologies to prepare us for this moment," said Nicole Wagner, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO of LambdaVision. "Helogen offers us the great opportunity to extend our work beyond the ISS and validate the full operational chain required for regulated production of our artificial retina in low-Earth orbit, which is a critical step as we more closely consider our commercialization plans."
The mission also aims to demonstrate that the platforms developed by both companies meet the consistency, traceability, and rigor required for future GMP-compliant production in space.
"Partnerships like this one with LambdaVision reflect what the future of biological manufacturing looks like: autonomous, GMP-oriented production systems with end-to-end traceability and real-time oversight, operating in orbit." said Shishir Bankapur, CEO, Helogen Corporation. "This mission is an important step toward transforming orbital biological manufacturing from research into trusted industrial infrastructure and advancing the next evolution of manufacturing in America."
LambdaVision's artificial retina is designed as a small, flexible implant of multilayered protein films intended to restore light sensitivity in the retina for patients blinded by conditions including retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration.
