Pilar Ferrer is 25 years old, a biologist who graduated from Favaloro University, and works on something that sounds like science fiction: an injectable hydrogel that repairs the heart after a heart attack.
The key lies in a detail that surprises anyone. The gel is inspired by the amniotic membrane, that placental tissue already used in regenerative medicine.
Injected directly into damaged heart muscle, it works as a kind of scaffold that helps cells rebuild themselves. In tests with sheep, it managed to reduce the size of the heart attack and improve heart function.
Ferrer spoke about it on the program “Otro día perdido”, where she left Mario Pergolini open-mouthed. She leads the project alongside a team from the startup Amnova Biotech, founded in 2024.
There is still a long way to go: human trials are only planned for 2028. But if one thing is clear, it is that the next major solution for heart attacks could have an Argentine accent.
