Irish BioTech Aerska launches with €17 million to develop RNAi medicines for diseases of the brain
Aerska, a Dublin-based BioTech company aiming to redefine the treatment of neurological diseases, today announced it has raised €17 million in Seed financing to develop systemically administered RNA interference (RNAi) medicines designed to silence genes that drive 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 launching with a leadership team with deep expertise in RNA medicines, CNS drug discovery, and clinical product development.
Aerska, named after a Gaelic proverb about “interdependence”, is headquartered in Dublin with research operations in London.
It is a BioTech company pioneering RNA medicines to treat, delay, and prevent diseases of the brain. The company is leveraging advances in ‘brain shuttles’ to enable targeted delivery of next-generation RNAi therapeutics to the CNS.
By silencing the genes that cause harm, Aerska aims to preserve the minds, protect the memories, and enable our loved ones to 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.”
The company explains that delivering genetic medicines to the brain has long been hindered by the blood-brain barrier. While RNAi has proven effective in the liver, its potential impact in the CNS has been limited by delivery.
Through external partnerships and internal innovation, Aerska’s antibody-oligo conjugate (AOC) platform uses “brain shuttles” to enable systemic RNAi delivery, neuronal uptake, and durable gene knockdown in the brain. In addition, the company is making targeted investments in data science capabilities to advance a precision medicine strategy for neurology, starting with programmes in genetic forms of Alzheimer’s disease 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.”
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