The funding will help Speer complete work on its first prototypes and support the company as it begins its first series of clinical trials, says Jim Poage, president and CEO of Startech. Startech is the locally based technology advocacy organization that has been working with Speer to help the company secure funding.
Speer is developing a lightweight, portable vital sign monitor that can be deployed in the field by military medics. The monitor can track eight vital signs, including total hemoglobin levels, which are an early indicator of hemorrhage and a primary concern for medics on the battlefield.
“They are breaking new ground by leveraging their product’s assets to appeal to both the military and commercial markets,” Poage says. “They will be working to make sure the product hits both markets at the same time.”
The company is working with the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston to conduct clinical trials on this technology.
“I am thankful for the new battlefield technology that will greatly aid our military fighting forces when injured in combat,” says State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio. “The development of this new technology by Speer Medical, and made possible by the TETF, will have many positive applications in both our military and civilian health care systems.”
The TETF is a $200 million initiative created by the Texas Legislature in 2005 at the governor’s request, and reauthorized in 2007 and again in 2009. A 17-member advisory committee of high-tech leaders, entrepreneurs and research experts reviews potential projects and recommends funding allocations to the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House.
To date, the TETF has allocated more than $196.2 million in funds to 132 early stage companies, and nearly $173 million in grant matching and research superiority funds to Texas universities. More than $43 million of that amount has gone to companies based in San Antonio. Speer Medical is the 17th San Antonio company to receive TETF money since 2005.
