Our vision: Ending viral disease
Kimer Med was established in 2020 to pursue a vision to end viral disease, with a family of safe and effective broad-spectrum antivirals.
Discovered at MIT, developed in Nelson
The scientific discovery of DRACO (double-stranded RNA-activated caspase oligomerizer) was known to Kimer Med’s founders Phil Oliver and Rick Kiessig. DRACO was developed and published by Dr Todd Rider and his team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston USA, but despite its potential it had not progressed. With decades of scientific, entrepreneurial and management experience between them, Oliver and Kiessig founded Kimer Med to advance and bring to market vital broad-spectrum antiviral technology.
Rick Kiessig
Co-Founder & CEO
Chief Science Officer (CSO)
As Kimer Med’s Chief Scientific Officer, Rick directly oversees the company’s research and development programme and as CEO he manages the day-to-day operations of the company.
Rick has a background in biology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, software, and rocket science. He owned and operated a multi-person consultancy in Silicon Valley for more than two decades, and is a vastly experienced entrepreneur and complex project manager, having delivered dozens of projects on time and on budget to NASA, Lockheed-Martin, and other high-profile clients. This is the fourteenth start-up that Rick has founded or been involved in.
Rick has written software that’s flown to Mars three times, published work in peer-reviewed journals in the fields of biochemistry and aerospace, and is the primary author of five patents.
Phil Oliver
Co-Founder & CTO
Chief Bioinformatition
Phil manages all the software and IT-related aspects of the business. In addition he contributes to experiment planning, performs in-depth literature searches and investigations.
As an experienced software engineer and entrepreneur, Phil brings an extensive background in science, IT and engineering. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2012, and has previously worked for a Contract Research Organisation (CROs perform services such as managing clinical trials).
Phil’s four decades of engineering and research experience includes topics as diverse as methods to improve production yields and lower the cost of medical radioisotopes, improving methods of acquiring, storing, and processing clinical trial data, and improving the stealthiness of gas turbine engines used in military applications. Other projects have successfully addressed widespread medical problems with the development, testing and application of new technology.
Dr Rishi Pandey
Lead Scientist
Rishi has a PhD in biochemistry and a decade of experience in the biotechnology industry and crown research institutes. He has expertise in protein engineering, formulation development and analytical biochemistry, and a keen interest in finding a cure for infectious diseases like influenza, HIV and Hep B. Rishi comes to us from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) Ltd, New Zealand, where he led multiple fast-track science projects and science strategy impact fund projects.
Rishi is responsible for the development of new drug candidates and works closely with the rest of the team to develop our product pipeline, addressing regulatory requirements and roadmaps for product to market.
Dr Sasini Polwotta
Biomedical Scientist
Sasini is a Kimer Med scientist, utilising her knowledge in medical research, cell culture, in-vitro assay design and viability testing.
She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of East London where she specialised in medical microbiology. After finishing her studies, she returned to Sri Lanka to work as a high school science teacher and complete her post-graduate diploma in Experimental Biotechnology at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
In 2017 she moved to New Zealand to pursue her doctoral research in cancer genomics and pathology at the University of Otago, where she received her PhD. Her research focused on the tumour suppressor gene p53 and its isoforms in pancreatic cancer and melanoma.
Andy Clover
Communications & Funding Lead
Andy’s role is primarily to increase awareness of the work we are doing and find and engage with sources of grant funding and investment.
Andy has worked as a qualified designer, branding consultant and marketing strategist for more than 20 years. His communications and digital marketing experience covers a raft of sectors including museum and art galleries, avionics, public health, solar, fisheries, tech and craft brewing.
For some years Andy has been interested in innovation, particularly the role of quality design and branding in the trajectory of early stage startups. In 2020 he took advantage of the Covid lockdowns to gain his Postgraduate Diploma in Innovation & Design Thinking.
Tanja Wiles
Biomedical Laboratory Technician
Tanja is responsible for the day-to-day functioning of Kimer Med’s office and laboratory spaces, maintaining equipment, supplies and health and safety protocols.
Tanja has a background in pharmaceutical and life sciences, with over 15 years of experience working in top level German research institutes like the University of Goettingen and the Max-Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences. Her work in Germany focused on engineering expression cassettes for use with recombinant viral vectors and in-vitro transcribed mRNA.
In 2018 she moved to Nelson where she worked at Cawthron Institute within the ecotoxicology group for 5 years, before moving to Kimer Med.
Dr Mauro Teixeira
Advisor
Mauro obtained his PhD at the University of London and has worked in Brazil since 1997. He is a Professor of Immunology at the Department of Biochemistry and Immunology and Head of the Center for Advanced and Innovative Therapies at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil. He is a full member of the Brazilian Academy of Science, of the National Order of Scientific Merit and of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).
Mauro is past-president of the Brazilian Society of Pharmacology (SBFTE) and of the Brazilian Society of Inflammation (SBIN). Currently he is vice-president of the International Association of Inflammation Societies (IAIS) and chair of the Immunotherapy Committee of the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS). He is member of the Medicines advisory board for ANVISA.
Mauro works in the field of inflammation, with particular emphasis on the role of inflammation in disease and death following infection. He coordinates the National Institute of Science and Technology in Dengue and host-microbial interactions (INCT Dengue), and is recognised as a world leader in Dengue research.