Last month, Sanford opened a first-of-its kind FDA-approved clinical trial to treat rotator cuff tears with a patient’s own adipose-derived stem cells. The goal is to determine whether an injection of these cells can safely repair small and partial thickness tears by activating the body’s natural healing process.

Sanford Health has opened another clinical trial exploring the power of the body’s immune system to fight cancer. The immunotherapy trial is focusing on colorectal cancer and involves the investigational checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab which Sanford is already studying as a potential therapy for other cancers.