A medtech company named Victorian Startup of the Year in 2022 and backed by Breakthrough Victoria has entered voluntary administration with a “potential sale or large-scale restructure” on the cards.
Pitcher Partners’ Lindsay Bainbridge and Andrew Yeo have been appointed administrators of Seer Medical, a Melbourne-based medtech startup that has developed in-home epilepsy diagnostic technology.
It comes after the company recalled its Seer Home systems last year, leading to the closure of 18 of its clinics in Australia, where individuals were fitted with the technology before taking it home.
There were also significant redundancies at the company in 2023 and it is currently facing an unfair dismissal lawsuit filed by Seer Medical’s co-founder and ex-CEO.
Breakthrough Victoria, the private investment company established by the Victorian government, has invested $30 million into Seer Medical.
Looking for the right partner
Seer Medical’s directors voted to enter voluntary administration late last year, and Pitcher Partners was appointed as administrators earlier this week, as The Australian reported.
The company will now be operated by the accounting firm until a sale or restructure is negotiated, with staff to continue being paid.
Bainbridge said the decision to enter voluntary administration was made to find the “right partner” to take the company forward.
“It is early days, but we are undertaking a review of the company with the intention to present the business to market for sale or restructure via a deed of company arrangement,” Bainbridge said in a statement provided to Business News Australia.
“This is a good moment to restructure the business in readiness for the release of Seer’s new device.
“We will be working with the board and stakeholders to consider options and expect to release an information memorandum for the company by the end of next week.”
A spokesperson for Breakthrough Victoria said the fund will work with the appointed administrator.
“Breakthrough Victoria looks forward to working with the administrator and remains a strong believer of the potential impact of Seer Medical’s technology to improve public health and people’s quality of life globally,” the spokesperson told The Australian.
Seer’s journey
Seer Medical was previously a star of the Victorian and Australian startup scene.
The company was founded in 2017 to develop and commercialise technologies that could detect warning signs of various disorders, including epilepsy and heart issues.
Its flagship Seer Home service shifts the monitoring of epilepsy from the hospital to the home, combining devices, cloud computer, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
In 2021 Seer Medical was featured on the Australian Financial Review’s Fast Starters list, and closed a $34 million Series A funding round with investors including Cochlear, EWM Group, SG Hiscock and Giant Leap.
The following year, Seer Medical was named the Victorian Startup of the Year and Breakthrough Victoria invested $30 million in the form of a convertible note.
But the following year there was a round of redundancies at the company, with about a third of Seer Medical’s workforce slashed as part of a restructuring deal featuring bridge funding.
Early last year, Seer Medical co-founder and CEO Dr Dean Freestone was dismissed from the company.
He has since launched unfair dismissal proceedings, claiming he was forced out of the company he cofounded on the condition of a $10 million rescue package, and “coerced” into a deal that diluted his 30 per cent stake in the company, according to his statement of claim.
Last year Seer Medical also alerted Australian and US authorities that it was recalling its Seer Home system, although it said that the risk to users of this product was low.
This led to the closure of 18 clinics in Australia where patients were fitted with these devices.
