‘Aussie success story’: epilepsy device company lists
A company planning to revolutionize epilepsy monitoring has finally started listing on the Australian stock exchange, the culmination of a journey that began when a medical student’s father was diagnosed with the neurological disorder.
Epiminder shares were trading at $1.34 on Monday afternoon, down 10.7 percent from their $1.50 IPO price, giving the Cochlear-backed medical technology firm a market value of $290 million.
The Melbourne-based company has developed a subscalp electroencephalogram (EEG) device to continuously monitor patients with epilepsy, the neurological condition marked by recurring seizures caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain.
More than 52 million people worldwide have epilepsy, making it the fourth most common neurological disease after migraine, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.
Epiminder says the minimally invasive implantable EEG monitor is a much better way to monitor and record seizures than subjective patient diaries or a several-day stay in a hospital epilepsy monitoring unit.
Epiminder says the device will enable more timely and effective treatment, significantly improving the quality of life of people with epilepsy while reducing healthcare costs.
The device, manufactured by Cochlear, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.
Epiminder plans to launch its GO Minder system in the US in the first half of 2026, using funds from an IPO that raised $125 million.
The company’s prospectus states that its price will be around US$25,000 ($38,000).
Melbourne-based neuroscientist Mark Cook founded Epiminder in partnership with the Bionics Institute, the University of Melbourne, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne and Cochlear, which holds a 36 per cent stake in the company.
Dr Cook first became interested in epilepsy as a medical student and his father also developed the disease.
His father’s epilepsy was very poorly controlled and no one had a good idea what was happening to his seizures, which set Dr Cook on the path that eventually led him to find Epiminder and develop the Minder system.
“There’s been tremendous progress in terms of actually developing the technology,” CEO Rohan Hoare told AAP.
“This is a great Australian success story.”
Epiminder was listed on a tough day for the Australian stock exchange, which has suffered disruption to its system for publishing price-sensitive company announcements.
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