)
Epilepsy treatment specialist Seer Medical has been pulled from the brink following a $40 million rescue deal that will see the company join US-based neurodiagnostic group Cadwell Industries’ portfolio while maintaining its Australian ties through a joint investment that includes Breakthrough Victoria and Singapore’s TrialCap.
The deal struck by the administrators of Melbourne-based Seer Medical is part of a deed of company arrangement (DOCA) secured with creditors to the company which was placed into voluntary administration in December last year.
The company’s financial woes were triggered by a product recall that led to the closure of Seer’s Australian clinics last year, but administrators Lindsay Bainbridge and Andrew Yeo, from Pitcher Partners, said at the time they were confident that a restructure of the business was possible if they could secure the right partner.
Cadwell Industries is one of the world’s largest neurodiagnostic equipment manufacturers and specialises in neurodiagnostic, neuromonitoring, and sleep solutions.
The US company plans to integrate Seer Medical's long-term home EEG technology with its existing portfolio of neurotechnology assets, which Cadwell says will create an “industry-leading product line serving clinical, ambulatory and hospital-based epilepsy diagnostic and treatment centres”.
The investment also gives Cadwell access to Seer Medical's Melbourne office and staff, enhancing its technical breadth and capacity for bringing new products to market.
"We are thrilled to welcome the Seer Medical team as a part of the Cadwell family as we continue our shared vision of empowering providers to help more patients worldwide and, importantly, to expand access to quality epilepsy care for the millions who need it,” says Cadwell CEO Patrick Jensen.
“Breakthrough Victoria and TrialCap share in this same vision, and we are pleased to partner with them in improving the lives of epilepsy patients around the world.
“We will be leveraging Seer’s core assets across our other product lines, including Seer’s AI, cloud and web connectivity, and its patient-worn devices and novel consumables.
“We welcome Seer to the Cadwell family and look forward to using this technology to enable our clinical partners to better help their patients.”
Seer Medical was heavily backed by Breakthrough Victoria to the tune of $30 million in 2022, and prior to that by Cochlear (ASX: COH), EWM Group, SG Hiscock and Giant Leap which invested in a $34 million Series A round in 2021.
Seer Medical was founded in 2017 by Dr Dean Freestone and George Kenley to bring to the market technology that detects signs of various disorders, including epilepsy and heart conditions.
The company’s key product is the Seer Home System, a portable video EEG monitoring system designed to enable high-quality, long-term studies for epilepsy detection at home without the need for hospitalisation.
Seer Medical was forced to close its network of 18 clinics nationally last August after the company alerted Australian and US authorities of a recall of the product.
The company’s problems were compounded by an unfair dismissal claim by Freestone, who departed as CEO in April last year.
Under the agreement approved by creditors, Cadwell, Breakthrough Victoria and TrialCap have taken equity interests in Seer Medical in a deal worth $40 million.
Breakthrough Victoria is the investment arm of the Victorian Government while TrialCap is a Singapore-based company that focuses on clinical-trial financing.
Administrator Lindsay Bainbridge says Seer Medical’s technology drew global interest during the sale process, adding that the Cadwell deal was an “excellent” outcome for creditors, staff and patients.
“We had teams of medical and clinical representatives fly to Melbourne to be introduced to the Seer Medical staff, receive demonstrations of the products and work with technologists, indicating the strong level of interest in this company,” says Bainbridge.
“As part of the DOCA, Breakthrough Victoria will see its investment converted to shares in the new company.”
Seer Medical’s creditors are expected to receive most or all outstanding amounts owed to them, either in cash or as shares, with Bainbridge noting that that Seer Medical will retain almost all of its employees.
)
