United Therapeutics (UTHR) is collaborating with Varda Space Industries to explore the use of microgravity to develop improved formulations for treatments targeting rare pulmonary diseases, Varda Space said Wednesday.

The company said they plan to process pulmonary disease medicines aboard its orbital manufacturing and re-entry platform during multiple low Earth orbit missions.

The collaboration will study how microgravity affects the crystallization and structure of therapeutic compounds in an effort to improve drug stability, bioavailability and delivery method, the company said.

The project will use Varda's space manufacturing platform, which sends pharmaceutical payloads into orbit, processes materials in microgravity and returns them to Earth using its re-entry capsules, the company added.