Mass Balance leverages microgravity environments to enable SpaceFold™ technology, allowing proteins that are difficult or impossible to manipulate on Earth to be correctly folded for drug development. By operating in orbit, the company can target previously undruggable proteins, creating new therapeutic possibilities for complex diseases.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Protein therapeutics often require precise three-dimensional folding, but many target proteins misfold or aggregate under Earth's gravity, making them difficult or impossible to develop as drugs. This limits treatment options for complex diseases that depend on correctly folded biologics.
Solution
Mass Balance uses microgravity environments in orbit to apply its proprietary SpaceFold™ technology, enabling proteins that are unstable or unmanageable on Earth to achieve their native conformation. By conducting protein folding and initial manufacturing steps in space, the platform creates biologics with correct structure that can be integrated into conventional downstream biopharma pipelines. The approach expands the range of druggable targets, allowing pharmaceutical developers to pursue therapies for diseases that were previously considered undruggable.
Target Audience
Primary customers are biopharmaceutical companies and research organizations developing protein‑based therapeutics that require high‑fidelity folding, particularly those targeting complex or previously undruggable targets.
Features
- Microgravity‑based folding process that reduces aggregation and promotes native protein conformation
- SpaceFold™ platform integrates directly with existing biopharma downstream processing workflows
- In‑orbit manufacturing capability that can be scheduled as part of satellite launch missions
- End‑to‑end quality control pipeline, including on‑orbit monitoring and post‑flight analytical validation
- Scalable model that supports multiple protein candidates per mission, optimizing launch payload utilization