MSC vs HSCT for Heart Failure & Cardiac Repair: what the registries show
For Heart Failure & Cardiac Repair, the registry holds 32 MSC records against 13 HSCT records. MSC carries the larger research programme; neither column is a head-to-head efficacy result. Snapshot 2026-08-29.
Side by side
| Metric | MSC | HSCT |
|---|---|---|
| Registered studies | 32 | 13 |
| Recruiting now | 3 | 1 |
| Phase 3 or 4 records | 5 | 1 |
| Completed | 15 | 6 |
| Stopped early | 9 | 2 |
| Countries with sites | 16 | 14 |
| Median planned enrolment | 50 | 40 |
| First registration year | 2,005 | 2,006 |
The condition underneath the comparison
Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction involves lost cardiomyocytes and adverse remodelling. Cell therapy has been studied here longer than in almost any other indication, and the arc is instructive: early enthusiasm, mixed later-phase results, and a field that has narrowed its claims from regeneration to modest functional support.
MSC: what it is
Mesenchymal stromal cells are the workhorse of commercial cell therapy: easy to source from fat, cord or marrow, easy to expand, and rarely characterised in the same way twice. Their proposed action is paracrine — signalling molecules that damp inflammation — rather than replacement of lost tissue. That matters when reading counts like these, because two studies filed under the same label can test materially different products at different doses by different routes.
HSCT: what it is
Haematopoietic transplantation is the oldest and most consequential cell therapy in medicine, with conditioning regimens that carry real mortality risk alongside genuine disease-modifying power. Registrations under this label therefore mix decades-old standard-of-care protocols with newer autoimmune-reset trials, and the risk profile is nothing like that of an outpatient infusion.
Maturity difference
MSC has 5 Phase 3/4 records and 15 completed studies; HSCT has 1 and 6. Where both sit early on the ladder, the honest answer to "which works better" is that registrations cannot tell you.
Leading MSC studies
| Study | Phase | Status | Planned n | Lead sponsor | Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT07192211 — Exploratory Study of ADR-002K for Heart Failure Patients With Ischemic Heart Disease Who Undergo CABG | Phase 2 | Recruiting | 50 | Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | 2026-04-28 |
| NCT07265349 — A Phase I/II Clinical Trial of Intramyocardial Injection of HucMSCs for the Treatment of Chronic Heart Failure | Phase 1, Phase 2 | Recruiting | 51 | Tasly Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd | 2025-12-26 |
| NCT06560762 — Study in Participants With Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF) | Phase 1 | Recruiting | 12 | Secretome Therapeutics | 2025-03-03 |
| NCT05925608 — Clinical Trial of Human Allogenic Culture-expanded Bone Marrow-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells | Phase 1, Phase 2 | Active Not Recruiting | 39 | BioCardia, Inc. | 2023-08-23 |
| NCT05043610 — MSCs for Prevention of MI-induced HF | Phase 3 | Completed | 420 | Shiraz University of Medical Sciences | 2021-09-15 |
Leading HSCT studies
| Study | Phase | Status | Planned n | Lead sponsor | Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT03394365 — A Phase 3 Study of Tabelecleucel for Participants With Epstein-Barr Virus-Associated Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disease After Failure With Ri | Phase 3 | Recruiting | 115 | Pierre Fabre Medicament | 2017-12-29 |
| NCT03145402 — ICMNC-HF. IntraCoronary Bone Marrow MonoNuclear Cells in Heart Failure (HF) Patients | Phase 1, Phase 2 | Unknown | 5 | SCARM Institute, Tabriz, Iran | 2020-10-20 |
| NCT02439541 — Human Umbilical-Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy in Ischemic Cardiomyopathy | Phase 1, Phase 2 | Unknown | 40 | Affiliated Hospital to Academy of Military Medical Sciences | 2015-05 |
| NCT02362646 — Safety & Efficacy of Intramyocardial Injection of Mesenchymal Precursor Cells on Myocardial Function in LVAD Recipients | Phase 2 | Completed | 159 | Annetine Gelijns | 2015-07 |
| NCT01758406 — Transplantation of Autologous Cardiac Stem Cells in Ischemic Heart Failure | Phase 2 | Unknown | 50 | Royan Institute | 2013-12 |
The honest comparison
Head-to-head trials putting these two approaches in the same protocol are rare or absent for most conditions. Comparing counts from separate registry queries shows where research effort went — driven by cost, regulation and sponsor interest as much as by biology. Anyone presenting one column of this table as proof of superiority is overreading it.
Frequently asked
Is MSC better than HSCT for Heart Failure & Cardiac Repair?
The registries cannot answer that. They show research volume and maturity, not comparative effectiveness: 32 vs 13 registered records (2026-08-29).
Which has more late-stage research for Heart Failure & Cardiac Repair?
MSC: 5 Phase 3/4 records. HSCT: 1.
Can a clinic offer both?
Some do, which is itself worth questioning — a provider offering every modality for every condition is describing a business model, not a treatment rationale.
Registry and literature counts retrieved 2026-08-29 (ClinicalTrials.gov API v2; PubMed E-utilities). Registration or publication volume measures research activity, not effectiveness or approval. Educational information — not medical advice; verify product, indication, legal pathway and evidence with an independent qualified physician. Page generated 2026-08-29. See our editorial standards.
More on this condition
- Heart Failure & Cardiac Repair: cell-therapy evidence and registered trials
- How much does stem cell therapy for Heart Failure & Cardiac Repair cost? (2026)
- Heart Failure & Cardiac Repair stem cell therapy — your questions answered (2026)
- Heart Failure & Cardiac Repair: cell-therapy evidence by therapy class