Our work

Our innovation: The VTose Antiviral Platform

Kimer Med’s antivirals are large molecule compounds, also known as biologics. Rather than targeting a very specific aspect of a virus, our compound targets long strands of dsRNA. This target is common to ALL viruses (with one possible exception), as it is produced by viruses inside cells during their lytic replication cycle. Our antivirals target viral dsRNA, bind to it, and this triggers apoptosis – the orderly process by which the immune system cleans up infected or damaged cells. This stops the virus from replicating, and does not affect uninfected cells.

• We’ve spent the last three years de-risking our science
• We’ve developed a proprietary Platform to rapidly formulate custom, targeted antivirals
• We have achieved success against more than 14 different viruses to date
• Our results include efficacy in vitro against all 4 serotypes of Dengue, and Zika virus
• We’ve proven our antiviral’s broad-spectrum capability  in vitro
• We’ve confirmed efficacy and safety in an in vivo study

Kimer Med’s scientists have achieved successful antiviral results against more than 15 human viruses. Many have no current treatment available.

Dengue – also known as “Breakbone fever”

Dengue fever is the most common and widespread mosquito-borne viral disease in the world, and is now endemic to 129 countries, putting 3.9 billion people at risk each year and resulting in hundreds of millions of cases worldwide. It can cause high fevers, crippling joint pain, serious organ failure and death, and the sheer number of cases that present during an outbreak can overwhelm hospitals and health clinics. We have achieved success against all four serotypes of Dengue.
There is no antiviral treatment for Dengue.

Zika virus

Since 2007 there have been outbreaks of Zika virus disease in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific Islands. Women who are infected by Zika virus during pregnancy can bear children with serious health conditions, including microcephaly, a condition in which a baby’s head is significantly smaller than expected, due to abnormal brain development. The World Health Organisation has declared Zika a public health emergency of international concern.
There is no antiviral treatment for Zika.

Rhinovirus & Coronavirus 229E – Common cold viruses

Both Rhinovirus and Coronavirus 229E are common cold viruses. The common cold is the most frequent infectious disease in humans, with around 7 billion cases every year. The average adult gets two to three colds a year, while the average child might get as many as six to eight infections. While the affects of a cold are not usually too serious, the economic impact of these viruses are significant. Colds lead to hundreds of millions of doctor’s visits, missed school days and missed work days – the cost of which exceeds US$20 billion annually in the US alone.
There is no antiviral treatment for the common cold.

Influenza A – “Flu”

The Flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by various influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and sometimes the lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness, and sometimes can lead to death. Complications of flu can include bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections and worsening of chronic medical conditions, such as congestive heart failure, asthma, or diabetes. Globally, there are around 1 billion cases of influenza, resulting in the deaths of 700,000 people each year on average.
The are some antivirals available for Influenza.

Rotavirus

Rotavirus is one of the common viruses that cause gastroenteritis. It is highly contagious and easily spread by contaminated food or water, and from person to person. There are around 111 million cases of rotavirus each year in infants, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths – in fact an estimated 1,205 children die from rotavirus disease daily.
No specific antivirals exist for any of the gastroenteritis viruses.

Herpes Simplex Virus 2 (HSV-2)

An estimated 491 million people aged 15–49 (13%) worldwide have herpes simplex virus type 2 infection, the main cause of genital herpes. HSV-2 infection increases the risk of acquiring HIV infection by approximately three-fold.  There are medicines to treat the first or recurrent episodes of herpes which can decrease how long symptoms last and how severe they are, but they can’t cure the infection.
There is currently no cure for HSV-2.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV)

CMV is actually a group of viruses related to those that cause chickenpox, herpes simplex and mononucleosis. It is a very common virus that affects people of all ages, and it’s estimated that up to 85% of all humans over 40 have CMV. Most people with CMV infection have no symptoms and aren’t even aware that they’ve been infected, as long as their immune system can keep the virus in check.

CMV is one of the handful of viruses for which treatments do exist, but none of them will cure the patient. More about CMV here.

Cytomegalovirus GDGr K17 (Drug-resistant strain)

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is very common and very contagious. It is spread it through saliva and other body fluids, and it can cause mononucleosis (aka mono), as well as other illnesses. Once you’re infected with EBV, the virus stays in your body forever. It can stay inactive or it can reactivate and you can have symptoms again.
There are no currently antivirals to treat or cure EBV.

JC Virus (JCV)

The JC virus is very common, and it’s estimated that somewhere between 70 and 90 percent of people in the world have it. The average person carrying the JC virus will never know they’ve got it, and is unlikely to experience any side effects. However, in some cases the JC virus can cause a serious brain infection and kill you. Those most at risk are people with a weakened immune system or those who are taking immuno-suppressing drugs. More about JCV here.
There are no currently antivirals to treat or cure JCV.

Human papillomavirus (HPV)

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are a group of common viruses spread through skin to skin contact. Some are sexually transmitted and can cause genital warts, and a range of types of cancer. There are more than 150 types of HPV, and at least 14 of these are high-risk types linked to cancer. There is no treatment for persistent HPV infection, but it is possible to treat the abnormal or precancerous cells that it causes.
There is a vaccine against HPV, but there are no antivirals to treat HPV.

Our antiviral testing continues

We are conducting further tests against more human viruses, and are in the advanced planning phase for in vivo (animal) studies before we begin Phase 1 clinical trials.

Funds raised in the Series A capital round will be invested into additional laboratory capacity and capability, to leverage our current antiviral successes and support pre-clinical studies for our leading drug candidate.