A young Argentine biologist and her colleagues are exploring a new way to support heart repair. The project offers hope, but it remains experimental.
Surviving a heart attack can mean living with lasting damage. The injured heart heals by forming scar tissue, which cannot contract like healthy heart muscle. Depending on the extent of the injury, this can reduce the heart’s pumping ability. [1]
An Argentine research team is investigating whether an injectable hydrogel could improve that healing process. Pilar Ferrer, a biologist and doctoral researcher at Favaloro University, is part of the project and CEO of Amnova Biotech, the startup developing the technology. [2]
The ambition is compelling: create conditions inside the injured heart that help tissue repair itself more effectively.
Why repairing the heart is difficult
A heart attack interrupts the blood supply to part of the heart muscle. Without enough oxygen, muscle cells can die. The scar that develops helps close the injury, but it cannot do the work of the muscle it replaces. [1]
That does not mean recovery is hopeless. Prompt treatment can limit damage, and cardiac rehabilitation can help people regain fitness and return to active lives. However, recovering strength and rebuilding lost heart muscle are different achievements. [3]
A clue from the beginning of life
The Argentine project draws on research into human amniotic membrane, a tissue associated with pregnancy. Favaloro University recognised the team’s work on decellularised amniotic membrane in a preclinical heart-attack model with a special mention at the 2025 César Milstein awards. “Decellularised” means the original cells have been removed, leaving the supporting material behind. [4]
This research provides a foundation for exploring materials that could support repair in damaged cardiac tissue.
A hydrogel is a water-rich material with a three-dimensional structure. In regenerative medicine, such materials can be designed to provide a supportive environment for cells. Amnova’s proposed therapy would be delivered directly into injured cardiac tissue during an existing cardiac procedure. It is not an ordinary injection into the arm. [5]
What researchers hope to achieve
The company’s aim is to support repair, preserve heart function and limit lasting damage. Descriptions of the project also discuss encouraging blood-vessel growth and improving the environment in which injured tissue heals. These are research objectives and preliminary claims, rather than proven benefits for patients. [5]
The distinction matters. Helping surviving tissue function better would be valuable, but it would not automatically demonstrate that an established scar had been replaced with new, working heart muscle.
How strong is the evidence?
Favaloro University’s September 2026 update explicitly identifies the project as preclinical. Ferrer works within its Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, headed by Daniela Olea and María del Rosario Bauzá. This is a collaborative effort involving several researchers and disciplines. [2]
Preclinical research examines a potential therapy before it is tested in people. Encouraging laboratory or animal findings can justify further investigation, but they cannot establish human benefit.
For this article, a full peer-reviewed study reporting the current injectable formulation’s animal numbers, controls and long-term outcomes could not be located. That limits how confidently its effectiveness can be assessed.
Important questions remain: Is delivery safe? Do improvements last? Does the treatment produce functional muscle, reduce injury, or both? Would it help a recent heart attack, an older scar, or only certain patients?
Amnova states that the therapy is still under development and is not available for clinical use. [5]
What this means for us today
For people living with heart damage, this is a development worth following. It represents an ambitious attempt to improve healing after a serious injury.
Today, prescribed treatment, follow-up care and medically supervised cardiac rehabilitation remain practical ways to support recovery. Any future regenerative therapy would need to demonstrate additional benefit alongside appropriate care. [3]
Pilar Ferrer and her colleagues are asking an exciting question: can we give an injured heart a better environment in which to recover? Answering it will require careful experiments and clinical trials. The hope is real; the outcome is still being investigated.
Information checked: 16 October 2026. This article is for general information. Discuss changes to medicines, diet or exercise with your healthcare practitioner.
Sources
- American Heart Association: What is a heart attack?
- Favaloro University, 30 September 2026: Pilar Ferrer recognised in Argentina’s Congress
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: Heart attack recovery
- Favaloro University: IMETTyB researchers recognised at the 2025 César Milstein awards
- Amnova Biotech: Technology, development roadmap and clinical-use notice. Company source; describes its own development programme.