Product information
Kimer Med: High Impact NZ Biotech company
Kimer Med is a New Zealand biotech company with global potential. We're developing a family of new, broad-spectrum antiviral therapeutics to treat a range of viral diseases and to provide protection against the next pandemic.
About us:
Kimer Med is led by vastly experienced Director and entrepreneur, Rick Kiessig (co-founder, CEO, CSO), and Technology Specialist Phil Oliver (co-founder, CTO and Chief Bioinformatician), along with Lead Scientist Dr Sophie Walker, a specialist in protein engineering, analytical biochemistry and biophysics.
Our R&D is undertaken in our fully equipped PC-2 laboratory in Nelson, New Zealand, leveraging the region’s internationally-renowned scientific community as well as our global networks and partners.
Kimer Med was founded to save lives and reduce the suffering caused by viral diseases, by developing and commercialising broad-spectrum antiviral technology. Our approach supports both treatment (after infection), and short-term prevention (before infection). Our small, agile team is motivated, passionate and determined to build a successful business that will change the world.
Important note: Kimer Med’s Information Memorandum (IM) is available to download from the 'Key documents' tab on this page (above). It contains important information about the company and the risks associated with investing. We encourage you to read it thoroughly.
Why the world needs broad-spectrum antivirals
Broad-spectrum antivirals are desperately needed to meet significant unmet medical needs, and for protection against the next pandemic.
- Viruses are a threat to our health, lives and livelihoods
- They cause immense global suffering, much of which goes untreated
- The Covid-19 pandemic alone had a global economic cost of approx. $49 trillion dollars, and took millions of lives
- Vaccines will not be ready and waiting when the next pandemic occurs - antivirals can be
- Now is the time to invest in antivirals, before the next pandemic.
The VTose® Antiviral Platform
Kimer Med has built and refined a proprietary Platform for broad-spectrum antiviral development.
With our Platform we can:
- Rapidly design and test new antiviral candidates
- Customise antivirals to target different types of virus
- Reduce drug discovery time (traditionally very slow)
- Optimise our antivirals for greater efficacy and safety
- Design to bypass viral defences, to reduce drug-resistance
Our science builds on a discovery made at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston USA, and published in 2011. It was nicknamed DRACO, short for Double-stranded RNA-Activated Caspase Oligomerizer.
The Opportunity
The Global Antiviral Market:
The global antiviral market is poised for continued growth, driven by innovation, the increasing prevalence and severity of viral diseases, and pandemic preparedness efforts. As the global community continues to confront viral threats, access to safe and effective antiviral therapies remains paramount to protect public health and improve patient outcomes.
The market is currently worth NZ$97 billion dollars in annual sales revenue, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 5.5%.
This figure represents the value of antivirals for only 12 viruses.
Kimer Med’s goal is to expand the existing market by producing and commercialising a family of new broad-spectrum antivirals against multiple diseases for which there are currently no approved treatments available. Our first target is the Dengue virus - a $3.8b opportunity.
Investment Highlights:
- Success against 19 viruses in vitro (lab-based testing) to date
- First in vivo (in animals) study confirmed antivirals' safety and efficacy (further studies in mice are underway)
- Proprietary VTose Antiviral Platform technology enables rapid antiviral development and optimisation, reducing discovery time
- US DOD-funded contract underway for custom antiviral development worth up to NZ$1.3 million (non-dilutive)
- Lead antiviral compound shows up to 100% efficacy in vitro against all four types of Dengue, and Zika virus
- Annual Dengue cases number more than 400 million, with no antiviral available - an opportunity worth NZ$3.8 billion annually
- A detailed project plan and business growth strategy based on out-licencing after phase 1 trials, with profitability forecast by 2028
Updated November 2024:
Our Series A round is now closed. We successfully raised our target of $14 million to complete pre-clinical studies and readiness for Phase 1 clinical trials.
Kimer Med raised seed funding of NZ$4.2 million in 2021 and established a fully equipped PC-2 (BSL-2) laboratory. To date, most of our revenue has been from non-dilutive grants and donations. We are eligible for, and receive, NZ government R&D tax credits. We continue to seek grant funding to assist our on-going work.
Active Investor Plus Visa: Acceptable Investment
Kimer Med Limited has been assessed against the eligibility criteria by NZTE, and approved as an Acceptable Investment under the Active Investor Plus Visa programme.
