Marcus Foundation awards USC $28.7M for stem cell regenerative heart therapy trials

The University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles has announces a $28.7 million award from Marcus Foundation to the KSM’s Stem Cell Center to advance a pioneering therapy to address heart attack damage. The funding will back clinical trials at Keck Hospital testing gene-edited, stem-cell-derived heart muscle cells in patients. The award will also support research into immune responses that could reduce the need for immunosuppressive drugs. The award is the foundation’s largest ever to USC and among its largest gifts to academic medicine.