Cutiss and SpacePharma testing skin regeneration on the ISS

Cutiss, a life sciences company from Schlieren in the canton of Zurich specializing in regenerative medicine and skin tissue engineering, is researching the effects of space on skin cells and tissue culture. Cutiss is collaborating with SpacePharma from Courgenay in the canton of Jura on this project. SpacePharma develops micro-labs for research and development in space under micro-gravity conditions. The four-week experiment being conducted by Cutiss is taking place in one such micro-lab.

It traveled to the ISS on a commercial resupply mission for NASA aboard a SpaceX cargo spacecraft on 14 March. According to a press release, the aim is to deepen understanding of fundamental biological processes and potentially support the development of new therapies, devices and tools for wound healing, aging and scarring. It is also important for developing strategies to protect astronauts during spaceflight. For SpacePharma, this is the eighth flight to orbit, sixth mission to ISS and thirtieth experiment for a commercial client.

Once aboard the ISS, the micro-lab has been connected to the station’s power and monitoring systems by NASA astronaut Dr Warren Hoburg. The data from the micro-lab will be transmitted back to Earth and overseen in real-time by the Cutiss scientific team. “We are excited by the potential of this research to improve the safety of space travel as well as the likelihood of making scientific discoveries for the benefit of people on Earth,” commented Cutiss co-founder and CEO Daniela Marino.

Cutiss was founded in 2017. It is a spin-off from the University of Zurich and Children's Hospital Zurich. The company is based in the Bio-Technopark Schlieren-Zurich and was a member of the Wyss Zurich Accelerator until February 2022. mm