Irish startup Aerska launches with $21M to break brain barriers in gene therapy

Aerska, a Dublin-based biotech, launched with $21 million in seed funding to develop RNAi-based brain shuttles for treating neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Why it matters: Crossing the blood-brain barrier is one of the biggest challenges in drug delivery. Aerska’s tech could enable targeted, long-lasting gene silencing in the brain; potentially transforming treatment options for devastating neurological conditions.

Backstory: The company, co-founded by Jack O’Meara (former CEO of Ochre Biotech) and Stuart Milstein, includes neuroscience and biotech veterans from AstraZeneca and Orfonyx Bio. Aerska´s platform combines antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates with receptor-mediated shuttling.

Big picture: Aerska joins a growing group of companies racing to overcome the blood-brain barrier, a key obstacle in CNS drug development. With major pharma like GSK and Denali Therapeutics also pursuing similar strategies, innovation in this space could redefine treatment across a wide range of brain diseases.