SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A San Antonio medical startup that received $3 million in taxpayer funding from former Gov. Rick Perry has filed for bankruptcy.
Palmaz Scientific Inc. had been dogged by financial troubles for months. The company was started by Dr. Julio Palmaz, who achieved fame in the 1980s as one of the earliest inventors of cardiac stents.
The company said in a press release Friday that Palmaz’s family had loaned the company “millions of dollars” in the last year alone.
Palmaz Scientifc is the latest recipient of state dollars under the Texas Emerging Technology Fund to go bust. An Associated Press investigation in 2014 found that multiple companies had stalled despite rosier claims by Perry about the $205 million fund.
Gov. Greg Abbott dismantled the fund upon taking office last year.