{
  "abstract": "Future crewed expeditions beyond Earth will span multiple years, requiring a transition away from Earth-dependent pharmaceutical supply chains. Medications degrade more rapidly in space due to radiation exposure and storage constraints, while transporting large quantities of temperature-controlled biologics is logistically impractical. These challenges necessitate the development of self-sufficient, in-situ medical capabilities for deep space missions. This study evaluates the operational and clinical relevance (OCR) and recombinant production feasibility (RPF) of peptide therapeutics for on-demand manufacturing during long-duration spaceflight. Building on established astropharmacy databases and literature, 26 peptide-based medications relevant to spaceflight were identified and ranked using ten predefined OCR and RPF criteria. OCR criteria included regulatory status, shelf stability, storage requirements, NASA Human Research Roadmap risk/impact score, and purification requirements. RPF criteria included amino acid chain length, prior recombinant production, functional assay availability, dosing requirements, and post-translational modification complexity. All criteria were scored from 0-2 points. Teriparatide achieved the highest overall score (17/20), followed by abaloparatide and amylin (16/20). Several therapeutics, including angiotensin II, daptomycin, GLP-1 agonists, G-CSF, GM-CSF, and salmon calcitonin, also demonstrated potential (14/20). This study identifies peptide therapeutics as promising candidates for in-situ production and provides a structured framework to guide future astropharmacy development.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK",
    "David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA USA",
    "Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA USA"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "John J. Donovan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Isaac Ericson"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Andrew Wenthe"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Katalin Kovacs"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jonas Emsley"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Philip M. Williams"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1b5gzmk59n144.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41526-026-00630-z",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13724685/",
  "id": "1b5gzmk59n144",
  "issns": [
    "2373-8065"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-026-00630-z",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "lcc",
      "QP1-981"
    ],
    [
      "lcc",
      "TP248.13-248.65"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2737|Spaceflight effects on biology"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7167722570",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41526-026-00630-z_reference.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13724685",
  "pmid": "42420311",
  "published": "2026-07-01",
  "publisher": "Nature Publishing Group",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1b5gzmk59n144.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T12:23:13Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13724685",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-026-00630-z"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-08T14:20:59Z",
      "native_id": "09364fdaebf84256805c0b42b7dbb018",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-026-00630-z"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2737|Spaceflight effects on biology",
      "subfield": "physiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "On-demand peptide therapeutics for multi-year space exploration: analysis of clinical and operational relevance and recombinant production feasibility",
  "title_text": "On-demand peptide therapeutics for multi-year space exploration: analysis of clinical and operational relevance and recombinant production feasibility",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T14:20:59Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1b5gzmk59n144",
  "venue": "NPJ Microgravity",
  "versions": []
}