22 September, 2025
Space Biotech: Growing the Future of Health Beyond Earth | Aqeel Shamsul
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Episode Summary
In this episode of Health in Hyperdrive, host Dominic James is joined by Dr. Aqeel Shamsul, CEO of Frontier Space, to explore the radical transformation underway in space-based biotechnology. From orbital labs to biological re-entry, we dive into the science, strategy, and vision behind turning microgravity into medicine.
Over the past two decades, drug development in space has moved from speculative to strategic, with breakthroughs in crystallization, tissue engineering, and precision therapies. Now, Europe’s first SpaceTech company delivering biological re-entry is pushing the frontier even further, enabling the growth of bio-foods, bio-fuels, bio-materials, vitamins, and even organs in orbit.
Dr. Shamsul shares how his team built a lab for launch, what it takes to grow hearts and retinal implants in microgravity, and why the next generation of space stations could redefine healthcare by 2050. Whether it’s space for space or space for Earth, this episode unpacks the commercial, clinical, and cosmic implications of biotech beyond borders.
Key Topics Covered
R&D and biomanufacturing in microgravity: why space changes the rules
20 years of drug development in orbit: lessons and leaps
How to build and launch a bio lab on a rocket
Europe’s first biological re-entry mission: what it means for biotech
Growing bio-food, bio-fuel, vitamins, and drugs in space
Making space commercially viable for both Astronauts and Earth-based applications
Engineering hearts and retinal implants in zero gravity
What space health could look like by 2050: next-gen stations and therapies
Links
About Aqeel
CEO Frontier Space
Dr. Aqeel Shamsul is the CEO and co-founder of Frontier Space, a UK-based biotech startup pioneering space-based drug development and biomanufacturing. With a PhD from Cranfield University and accolades from UKSA, ESA, and Seraphim Space Accelerator, he’s led Frontier Space to its first orbital launch and continues to shape the future of healthcare—one payload at a time.