The Facts About Kimer Med

False information is being spread online about Kimer Med. This is causing unnecessary fear and alarm in the community. Please see below for the facts about what we do and don’t do.

If you have any questions about our antiviral research, please contact us.

What does Kimer Med do?

• We are working on a family of broad-spectrum antiviral drugs (medicines)

• Antivirals are to viruses what antibiotics are to bacteria

• Antivirals have been successfully used to manage several important diseases, including HIV

• Antivirals are designed to be used *after* someone is infected, unlike vaccines, which require use well before infection

• Some antivirals (hopefully including ours) can be used to protect people against exposure to viruses

• There are about 220 viruses that are known to cause disease in humans

• Approved antivirals only exist to treat 12 of those viruses, meaning 95% of viruses lack an effective antiviral

Who is Kimer Med?

• The company was founded in 2020 by Rick Kiessig and Phil Oliver

• Rick is a former American who moved from Silicon Valley to Nelson in 2006. He is now a New Zealand citizen, and has given up his US citizenship

• Phil lives in America, and is an American citizen

• Company funding came almost entirely from a single Angel investor in Australia

• We recently completed a round of fundraising, and gained a few minor shareholders, including some in NZ

• Majority ownership remains with residents of Australasia

• As of February 2025, we employ 6 people in Nelson

What can you tell us about some of the controversial issues and questions surrounding Kimer Med?

• We are not associated in any way with Gates, Soros, or Fauci

• We are not working on vaccines

• We are not working with mRNA

• We recognise the harm done to many people in NZ and elsewhere by the Covid vaccines; we are not vaccine apologists

• At the same time, we recognise the value of many older, conventional vaccines, although we believe their use should be by choice, and not mandated

• We are not taking direction from Big Pharma

• We are not working with mosquitoes, and we are not importing them into NZ

What is a PC-2 laboratory?

• Laboratories that handle biological materials require containment systems and must comply with relevant laws and safety standards

• Those biological materials include cells, bacteria, fungi, viruses, and certain plants and animals

• There are 4 internationally recognised levels of containment, PC-1 to PC-4

• PC-1 is used for organisms that carry a very low level of risk, such as baker’s yeast (no viruses are PC-1)

• PC-2 is used for organisms that carry a relatively low level of risk, such as Influenza or common cold viruses

• PC-3 is used for organisms that carry a relatively high risk, such as SARS-CoV-2

• PC-4 is used for viruses that are often fatal and that don’t have an effective method of treatment, such as Ebola

• There are internationally recognised standards that describe the requirements for each level

• The standards cover how the facilities are made, and the processes used by those who operate them

• There are a number of other PC-2 labs in Nelson and many in New Zealand (including at most universities), a few PC-3, and no PC-4

• The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) licenses and monitors all labs like this in NZ

What about Kimer Med’s lab?

• We have a PC-2 lab

• We use the lab mostly to fabricate and test small amounts of our compounds

• We need to do that work in a PC-2 lab because of the way we do that fabrication

• Our fabrication does not involve viruses in any way

• We also culture certain cells for testing, using standard laboratory cell lines. No humans or animals are harmed in the process.

• We are regularly monitored and audited by MPI

How have you done testing against viruses?

• All of our testing against viruses was done by third-parties, mostly in laboratories in the USA

• None of that testing was done directly by us

• Using cell cultures, we have shown that our compounds are effective against 21 different viruses

• The viruses we’ve shown success against include: Dengue, Zika, Human Papillomavirus, Herpes Simplex, Varicella Zoster (shingles), JC virus, Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr (EBV), two viruses that cause the common cold, Influenza, and Rotavirus.

What about Gain of Function testing?

• Gain of function testing involves modifying viruses

• We do not do gain of function testing

• We do not modify viruses in any way

What about animal testing?

• Animal health and the reduction of animal suffering is important to us

• Testing in mice is important to help us reduce the risk of eventual testing in humans

• We have not done testing in mice ourselves

• Testing in mice requires specialised equipment and facilities, which we do not have

• We have engaged external collaborators to test against small numbers of mice

• Those external contractors have been overseas, not in NZ

• We have not used companion animals for testing, such as cats, dogs, or horses

• We believe our compounds may eventually be able to treat a wide range of animals with viral disease

Who is paying Kimer Med?

• We do not yet have a product

• The only thing we have to sell at the moment is services

• We have had a few grants from Callaghan Innovation to support our R&D

• We had a short contract with Battelle Institute in the USA, to investigate specific antivirals

• None of our day-to-day funding comes from outside Australasia

What about Merck?

• We applied for an “Emerging Biotech” grant from Merck a few months ago

• Although Merck named us as a winner, we didn’t receive any funding from them as a result

• We were called out as a “Special Mention”

Are viruses real?

• Yes, hundreds of millions of people suffer from viral disease every year

• The structure and behaviour of viruses has been known, accepted and well characterised for many years

• Virus cause diseases such as mumps, measles, polio, HIV, shingles, hepatitis, flu, common cold, herpes, and many others

• Viruses infect not only humans, but animals, insects, plants, and even bacteria, fish and shellfish

• As part of their replication process, viruses usually destroy the cells they infect

• Some viruses can hide in cells, and emerge later. Herpes viruses are an example

Does Kimer Med operate in secret? Has there been any public disclosure or discussion of our work?

• Kimer Med has operated in full public view since we were founded in 2020

• We have met with a number of public officials, including Nelson’s mayor, the Nelson MP, and the former Minister of Health

• We have had articles published about us on Stuff, RNZ, NBR and other sites

• We have done interviews with RNZ and the Nelson Pod

• We received a public award from the Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce

• We have also received international recognition, including being named as one of the prestigious “Fierce 15” in biotechnology

Why are you working on a dengue antiviral?

• Dengue is the first commercial target for our antiviral medicines

• Dengue Fever is a mosquito borne viral disease that infects about 450 million people every year

• Most dengue infections take place in warmer, mid-latitude countries, such as Brazil and Singapore

• The virus is not transmitted directly from one person to another

• The virus is not airborne

• The virus is only carried by two species of mosquitoes, neither of which exists in New Zealand

• There have been cases of dengue reported in NZ, but as far as we’re aware, they have all been in people who contracted the virus outside the country, and none of the cases have spread

• Most cases of dengue are not fatal, but severe cases can be

• Children are at increased risk in countries where dengue is endemic

• Dengue can be extremely painful; its nickname is “breakbone fever”

• There are 4 different strains, or “serotypes” of dengue. If someone catches one strain, they are still susceptible to others

• There are currently no effective antiviral medications for dengue – we hope to change that

• Kimer Med’s antivirals have shown efficacy against all 4 serotypes of dengue

Why are you working to treat dengue fever in New Zealand?

• We believe a disease that infects 450 million people every year, and causes immense suffering, is worth our time and attention

• Dengue is growing in severity, and spreading to new regions, as weather patterns around the world change

• There was recently outbreaks of dengue in Samoa (May 2020, Aug 2024)

• There is currently an outbreak in Tonga (Feb 2025)

Image credit: Adrien Olichon at Unsplash