The Smilow Foundation has announced a USD 25 million philanthropic gift to Penn Medicine to establish the Smilow Center for Precision Therapeutics, directing capital toward gene-editing and other precision therapies for cardiovascular disease.
The center will be directed by Thomas P. Cappola, the William Smilow Professor and Division Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at Penn Medicine, and will draw on expertise across cardiovascular medicine, physiology, bioengineering, and systems pharmacology. The announcement identifies no specific drug asset or named clinical program; the gift is described as supporting research, first-in-human clinical trials, and patient care aimed at developing curative therapies for heart disease. Penn researchers Kiran Musunuru and Drew Weissman are cited as contributors, with Musunuru noted for developing gene-editing approaches intended to permanently lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, while Weissman is a pioneer in mRNA technology.
The Smilow Foundation's prior giving to Penn Medicine includes the gift that named the Smilow Center for Translational Research and the William Smilow Professorship, established in 2012. Penn Medicine and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia previously received a USD 50 million gift in June 2025 to launch the Lurie Autism Institute, a separate philanthropic commitment.
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