Kimer Med

From Nelson, a small city at the top of the South Island of New Zealand, to the world, we have a tale of discovery and innovation to tell. That's why Kimer Med is proud to be featured by See Tomorrow First - a marketing initiative created to showcase and promote NZ's amazing tech companies globally. Please share this post wide and far to help us tell our story around the world, as we try to reduce the global suffering caused by viral disease. https://lnkd.in/gQDWC-SY

This is Biomedical Scientist Dr Sasini Polwatta, one of the latest additions to our expanding laboratory team. Sasini started with Kimer Med in January, after completing her doctoral research at Otago University. She was awarded her PhD earlier this year and we are very happy to have her on board, as her knowledge of cell culturing, in-vitro assay design, and viability testing is an important asset in our effort to create antiviral therapeutics to combat the infectious disease burden in the world. Sasini brings her positive energy and a lovely calm temperament to the sometimes hectic environment of our busy lab, and we are thrilled to welcome her to Kimer Med. #biotech #antivirals #therapeutics #drugdevelopment

Broad-spectrum antivirals mean hope for people living with herpes viruses. October 13 was Global Herpes Awareness Day. There are 9 known herpes viruses that can infect humans, the most well-known of these being herpes simplex virus type 1 (oral herpes), herpes simplex virus type 2 (genital herpes) and Varicella zoster virus (VZV), the virus that causes chickenpox and shingles. Around 90% of the population acquires VZV before the age of 15, and it’s estimated that several billion people are currently living with HSV-1, and about half a billion with HSV-2. As with so many viruses, there’s no cure for herpes or VZV, although there are some treatments for VZV that can relieve the painful symptoms of an outbreak. Kimer Med has had our antiviral candidates tested against a range of herpes viruses, including HSV-2, HHV-6b, Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), VZV and Cytomegalovirus. We have achieved successful in vitro results (up to 100%) against all of these viruses, giving us reason to be hopeful of a cure to these widespread and highly contagious diseases. Broad-spectrum antivirals mean hope for people living with herpes viruses. #herpesawareness #herpes #broadspectrumantivirals #hope

Not long to go now until the 2024 Chemical and Biological Defense Science & Technology (CBDS&T) Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. #CBDST2024 Kimer Med is looking forward to attending, and will be presenting a poster on the design of broad-spectrum medical countermeasures (antivirals) to protect against multiple viral threats. The emergence, spread and mutation of viral pathogens presents significant threats to both global health and military operations. The lack of approved antiviral therapies for more than 200 known viruses highlights the urgent need for versatile,broad-spectrum antivirals capable of confronting both known and yet-to-emerge viral threats. Kimer Med's VTose Antiviral Platform represents a significant advance in the rapid development of broad-spectrum antivirals. Our ability to effectively target a common viral element (dsRNA), and design to bypass viral defences, offers a promising avenue for rapid responses to a wide range of viruses, aligning with both military and global health security objectives. Sophie W. #drugdiscovery #antivirals #DTRA #JSTO

Experts are calling it the 'canary in the coal mine', after an unprecedented discovery of Dengue in Los Angeles. The Telegraph reports that the cluster of cases in the city, which are not linked to international travel, indicates a migration of the mosquito that carries the virus. Carried by the 'Aedes aegypti' mosquito, Dengue is all too common in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, but it's feared that changing weather patterns and more rainfall are creating favourable conditions for it to spread into previously unaffected regions. Globally, cases of Dengue have grown rapidly in recent decades and it is now the fastest-spreading arbovirus (virus spread by mosquito), and a top 10 global health threat. Kimer Med's lead antiviral candidate is effective against all four serotypes of Dengue, as well as Zika virus, another flavivirus.

The number of people living with dementia in New Zealand is expected to double over the next 20 years, an alarming trend that is reflected throughout the world, creating a major health and economic issue. There's currently no cure for this type of disease, but there is growing evidence of the link between viruses and neurodegenerative disease, creating hope that antiviral medications might be the key to possible treatment and prevention. Full story (2 min read) on our website: https://lnkd.in/gz-pdMmq #broadspectrumantivirals #HSV #EBV #AlzheimersDisease #biotech

Viruses are threat to our lives and our economies. The Public Health Communication Centre released a briefing yesterday discussing "the high economic burden" of Long Covid. (Link in comments.) In it, they argue that the long-term and debilitating aftereffects of Covid infection has reduced worker productivity to such a degree that it is causing economic harm. This loss has been quantified in Australia, where recent analysis suggests a Long Covid cost of around 0.5% of GDP. That's $8.5 billion. If the same figure is applied to New Zealand's economy, it equates to around $2 billion - a not-insignificant figure that could pay for a lot of nurses salaries and GP visits. Viruses don't just cause disease, suffering and death. They extract a real and measurable toll on our economies as well. That burden can include lost productivity, the cost of healthcare and treatment, and impacts that will be felt downstream, such as the loss of schooldays. The Covid-19 pandemic is estimated to have cost the global economy around $49 trillion. The ubiquitous 'common cold', which causes billions of infections annually, causes the loss of 22 million schooldays around the world. Broad-spectrum antiviral drugs can protect us from some of this harm - both human and economic. When looking at the cost of supporting drug development, governments and others should also take into account the enormous economic burden associated with both viral disease and potential pandemic viruses.

On March 21, 2024, the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Dame Angela McLean, chaired a roundtable discussion to answer these questions. The key points of the roundtable were recently published by the UK Government's Office for Science, and make for an interesting read. Key takeaways included a number of observations that align closely with Kimer Med’s own views, including: • Novel viruses have the potential to cause pandemics in the future. • Broad-spectrum antivirals are an attractive option as a potentially ready-made response to a new threat. (As I do like to remind people, vaccines will not be ready and waiting for the next pandemic - but antivirals can be.) They also note that, "Antivirals can be deployed in different ways depending on their properties: pre-exposure prophylaxis (which could be used in outbreak control), post-exposure (to prevent or reduce severity of infection), or to treat disease. In other words, effective antivirals are going to be VITAL to protect frontline health and border workers, treat infections, limit the spread of an outbreak, and save millions of lives. But we need to develop them NOW - BEFORE the next pandemic occurs, and we have let our foot off the gas in this regard. The panel looked at the current global pipeline for antiviral agents and found a lack of coordination, a lack of priority and a lack of funding to be key challenges. As far as pandemic preparedness goes, it was noteworthy that “single-stranded RNA viruses are the highest priority as they are responsible for the majority (around 80%) of the global viral disease burden.” Many of Kimer Med’s successful antiviral results are against single-stranded RNA viruses, including: • Dengue virus (all 4 serotypes) • Zika virus • Influenza A virus • Rhinovirus • Coronavirus 229E The full report (a mere 5 min read) is linked in the comments. Pandemic Sciences Institute Wellcome Trust READDI INTREPID Alliance Defense Threat Reduction Agency Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

Such a buzz! It's not every day that a little biotech company from Nelson, New Zealand, gets to see its name up on the cubes at the New York Stock Exchange NYSE! Thanks so much to Amanda at the New York Stock Exchange for sending us these great images. Such a beautiful and historic building too! Kimer Med was featured at the NYSE as part of their coverage of the Fierce Biotech 2024 'Fierce 15' Awards. And just so it's clear, we're not listed on the NYSE, yet. But we are listed on Catalist - a New Zealand stock exchange for growth companies. You can check out that listing with the link provided in the comments. #Biotech #InvestmentOpportunity #BroadSpectrumAntivirals