University of Louisville Foundation alleges its spinout pharmacogenetics spinout PGxL was unable to repay a loan it had guaranteed after the business fell into bankruptcy.

University of Louisville Foundation is to sue the professor behind its pharmaceutical development spinout Pharmacogenetics Diagnostic Laboratory (PGxL) over a $3.5m loan made to the business, Louisville Courier-Journal has reported.
The foundation had guaranteed part of the loan and invested $910,000 in PGxL when the company sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2016.
PGxL has since had its assets acquired by predictive health services provider Prescient Medicine but stands accused of defaulting on the loan. Louisville will argue it was forced to pay a portion of PGxL’s liabilities out of donations provided to the foundation.
PGxL was co-founded in 2004 by Roland Valdes Jr, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the university’s School of Medicine. The company had run a commercial and research laboratory for projects based on genetic sensitivity to drugs, a branch of medicine known as pharmacogenetics.
University of Louisville is currently reexamining its financial policies after former president James Ramsey was forced to step down in June 2016. Earl Reed, chairman of the university’s foundation, suggested the lawsuit was intended to demonstrate the body’s renewed commitment to proper fiscal conduct.
The foundation had recorded a $1.9m liability from loans in the 2015-2016 financial year, however auditor Alvarez and Marsal has suggested the money is unlikely to be recouped by the lawsuit.
Reed said: “We are seeking only what we are lawfully entitled to, which is the recovery of money given to us by donors and then invested in a failed venture.”