The Exploration Company and Yuri to Advance Biotech Breakthroughs in Space

Building European Commercial Space Biotech Infrastructure.

BERLIN, GERMANY, September 25, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Exploration Company (TEC) and Yuri GmbH are joining forces to advance biotechnology in space. By combining Yuri’s biotech platforms with TEC’s spacecraft, the partners will unlock new opportunities in drug discovery, synthetic biology, and life sciences research under microgravity – driving health innovations on Earth while strengthening Germany’s role in space and biotech.

Drug development in space is no longer a vision for the future but key driver in advancing life science and biotechnology. Microgravity enables new medical discoveries, unique biomaterials, and bio-based systems that support long-term human space missions. It also deepens our understanding of how life adapts beyond Earth.

This is why The Exploration Company GmbH (TEC) and Yuri GmbH today announced their commitment to advancing biotechnology through space, reinforcing the importance of this sector as part of Germany’s High-Tech Agenda.
This collaboration will bring together Yuri’s innovative biotech platforms with TEC’s spacecraft to provide access to microgravity environments. Flying Yuri’s platforms in space will accelerate the testing and development of new biotechnologies, with a focus on synthetic biology and drug discovery. Microgravity also enables advances such as 3D cell culture, disease modelling, protein and molecular analysis, plant biology research, and innovations in nanofluidic; all with potential to drive breakthroughs in health and life sciences.

Proven collaboration
The two companies already share a history of cooperation: Yuri participated in TEC’s Mission Possible, which launched in June 2025. Building on this successful milestone, both companies are committed to deepening their collaboration by signing a Memorandum of Understanding to unlock new opportunities for research and innovation.

“Working with Yuri allows us to combine our expertise in spacecraft operations with their groundbreaking biotech platforms to speed-up end-to-end drug development in space,” said Victor Maier, Head of Germany & Central Europe Business at TEC). “Together, we can help accelerate innovation to improve health & life on Earth while keeping up Germany’s technological leadership.”

“Our very first joint mission proved how effective this collaboration is at the heart of Europe,” said Maria Birlem, Co-Founder & CEO of Yuri. “With TEC’s experienced team and execution speed, we can now truly scale our strategy - flying Yuri’s platforms regularly and giving Germany dependable access to microgravity for biotech research and bio-fabrication. This partnership turns Europe’s strengths in biotech and space into future health innovation.

Next Steps
Building on the success of their first joint mission, TEC and Yuri will work on the seamless integration of Yuri’s biotech platforms aboard TEC’s Nyx spacecraft to offer an end-to-end service for biotech research in space. The partners will prioritize use cases in synthetic biology, drug discovery, and biomaterials, setting the operational framework for recurring flights. With a regular flight cadence, the collaboration will give biotech and pharma companies dependable access to microgravity, turning pioneering experiments into scalable applications on Earth and in space.

About Yuri
Yuri is a leading commercial space biotech company that leverages the unique conditions of microgravity to research and develop groundbreaking biotechnological innovations and providing the implementation services (Yuri Lab-as-a-Service). With over 25 successful research missions to the ISS and partnerships with NASA, ESA, GSK, Charité Berlin, and MIT, our interdisciplinary team of aerospace engineers and biologists is taking pharmaceutical and biotech research to a new level - advancing drug discovery, optimized biomaterials, and sustainable food production processes both in space and on Earth. To achieve these goals Yuri manufactures space-based multi-user research, production and fabrication facilities for commercial biotechnology and pharma companies as well as international space agencies. Together with its partners, Yuri builds up the future commercial in-space life-science infrastructure.About The Exploration Company
Founded in 2021, The Exploration Company (TEC) is a European aerospace company developing Nyx - a modular, reusable, and in-orbit refuellable spacecraft designed to enable affordable, sustainable, and flexible access to space. TEC’s mission is to make space exploration open and inclusive, guided by the belief that space is for everyone. Its long-term vision champions a globally collaborative approach to space, built on open-source architecture and international partnerships. TEC offers end-to-end payload services - including cargo delivery and return, microgravity research, and STEM collaborations - through its scalable vehicle family Nyx.

Felix Steiner
Yuri GmbH
felix.steiner@yurigravity.com
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