By Paul Smith, Australian Doctor Newsletter
January 7, 2011

The impotency company behind the “Bonk Longer” advertisements owed more than $50 million when it was put into voluntary administration last month.

The Advanced Medical Institute (AMI), which runs a chain of controversial impotency clinics, collapsed within days of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announcing it was taking legal action against the firm for “unconscionable conduct”.
The ACCC claims the firm and its director Jack Vaisman sold expensive but substandard medical care to vulnerable patients with impotency problems – claims denied by a spokesman for Mr Vaisman this week.

The administrator Trent Hancock appointed by AMI held his first meeting with creditors yesterday.

He said the subsidiary of AMI – AMI Australia Holdings which is also in administration – is owed around $40 million. Life Sciences Group – an AMI subsidiary owned by Mr Vaisman – is owed around $2.7 million, according to Mr Hancock.

He said AMI also owes Fairfax, the owners of the Sydney Morning Herald$500,000, after AMI failed in legal action against the paper to prevent the publication of a series of damaging allegations about the company.

However Mr Hancock said he believed the company’s cash-flow was sufficient for it to could continue to trade and that it was likely that it would undergo a restructure.

In a statement he said: “It is particularly encouraging that despite the disruption of the last two weeks, the AMI Group’s 150,000 strong base of active customers remains loyal and are receiving their usual care as we conduct AMI’s business as normal.”