AUSTIN (AP) - Leaders of an embattled $3 billion cancer-fighting agency in Texas are meeting for the first time since disclosing that a lucrative state grant was improperly awarded to a private company.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas faces questions from top lawmakers after spending much of the year under a barrage of criticism. The agency’s woes intensified when it was revealed that a Dallas biomedical company won $11 million in taxpayer funds without having its proposal vetted by experts.

The agency’s governing board meets Wednesday. Among the agenda items is a report from the compliance officer who uncovered the improper grant to Peloton Therapeutics.

Gov. Rick Perry and other key Republicans last week called on the agency to explain how and why Peloton’s proposal was never reviewed.

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