Irish Biotech Aerska Raises €17M To Advance RNAi Therapies For Brain Diseases

The round was co-led by Age1, Backed VC, and Speedinvest, with participation from Blueyard, Lingotto (Exor), Norrsken VC, Kerna, PsyMed, and Ada Ventures.

“Neurological diseases remain one of the greatest challenges in medicine, with limited options to alter the course of disease,” said Jack O’Meara, CEO & Co-founder, Aerska. “By integrating brain shuttles with RNA therapeutics, we aim to enable precise, durable gene silencing in the CNS; supported by technology to ensure patients get the right intervention for their stage of disease.”

Aerska was founded in 2025 by Jack O’Meara, Stuart Milstein, and David Hardwicke and is backed by a leadership team with extensive expertise in RNA therapeutics, CNS drug discovery, and clinical development.

Named after a Gaelic proverb meaning “interdependence,” Aerska is headquartered in Dublin, with research operations in London.

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The company is pioneering RNA medicines to treat, delay, and prevent brain diseases. Using advances in brain shuttle technology, Aerska delivers next-generation RNAi therapies directly to the CNS.

By silencing harmful genes, the company aims to preserve minds, protect memories, and help people live longer, healthier lives.

“Delivery across the blood-brain barrier remains the bottleneck for genetic medicines in neurology ” said Alex Brunicki, Partner at Backed VC and Aerska board member. “Aerska’s platform integrates advanced RNAi chemistry with receptor-mediated shuttling and precision medicine, positioning the company at the forefront of CNS therapeutics.”

Delivering genetic medicines to the brain has long been a challenge due to the blood-brain barrier. While RNAi therapies work well in the liver, their impact in the CNS has been limited by delivery obstacles.

Aerska is tackling this with its antibody-oligo conjugate (AOC) platform, which leverages “brain shuttles” to enable systemic RNAi delivery, efficient neuronal uptake, and lasting gene knockdown in the brain. The company is also investing in data science capabilities to drive a precision medicine approach in neurology, beginning with genetic forms of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

“GalNAc proved what RNAi can do when delivered to a specific tissue and we’re now on the cusp of a similar leap forward in CNS medicine,” said Stu Milstein, who leads platform strategy at Aerska. “The velocity and ambition of this team is electric.”

Abour Aerska

Aerska is a biotechnology company developing RNA medicines to treat, delay, and prevent brain diseases. Using advanced “brain shuttle” technology, it delivers next-generation RNAi therapies directly to the CNS. Headquartered in Dublin with research operations in London, Aerska is pioneering precision treatments for neurological disorders.