Aerska

Aerska is a biotechnology company developing RNA interference (RNAi) medicines intended to treat, delay and prevent diseases of the brain. Its central technical premise is that RNAi has demonstrated potency, durability and precision in liver and cardiometabolic disease but has been held back in the central nervous system by the difficulty of delivering oligonucleotides across the blood-brain barrier. The company's antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate (AOC) platform pairs RNAi payloads with "brain shuttle" moieties that use receptor-mediated transport to cross the barrier, with the goal of intravenous or subcutaneous dosing that achieves uniform, deep brain distribution, neuronal uptake and durable target gene knockdown.

The company describes its approach as built on three pillars: next-generation RNA medicines; systemic administration with targeted brain delivery; and precision and prevention, combining target biology, data-driven patient stratification and biomarker-guided development. Initial programmes focus on genetic forms of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Aerska says it is combining external partnerships with internal innovation to source and develop brain delivery technology, and is making targeted investments in data science capabilities to support its precision neurology strategy.

Aerska was incorporated in Delaware with offices in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and is headquartered in Dublin with research operations in London; in June 2026 it announced an additional site in Boston. Its name derives from a Gaelic proverb ("Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine") referring to collective strength and collaboration.

Founding story

The founders cite personal experience of neurodegenerative disease as motivation: CEO Jack O'Meara describes watching relatives decline with Alzheimer's disease, and co-founder Dave Hardwicke describes his family being affected by neurodegenerative disease. O'Meara previously co-founded and led Ochre Bio, an RNA medicines company for liver disease, where the company reports he raised $45M in venture funding and over $70M in pharma partnering revenue with more than $1B in potential milestones; one source states Ochre Bio was founded in 2019, raised over $100m and that O'Meara stepped away in late 2024. Co-founder Stuart Milstein was previously Director of RNAi Lead Development at Alnylam, where he initiated early CNS siRNA delivery work and developed widely used siRNA template chemistry, later serving at Korro Bio and as Chief Platform Officer at Sail Biomedicines.

Business model

Aerska is a preclinical-stage therapeutics developer funded by venture capital. Its published materials describe building a proprietary AOC brain-shuttle platform and an internal pipeline of RNAi programmes, complemented by external partnerships for brain delivery technologies; no product revenue is described in the sources.

No revenue model is disclosed in the sources; the company is financed by venture capital at a preclinical stage.

Traction

Sources report $60 million raised across a $21M seed (October 2025) and a $39M Series A (February 2026), assembly of a leadership team drawn from Alnylam, AstraZeneca Neuroscience, Ochre Bio and Afimmune, board additions from EQT and age1, and geographic expansion to Boston in June 2026. No clinical or preclinical data milestones are disclosed in the sources.

Latest developments

In 2026 Aerska closed a $39M Series A (9 February) led by EQT Dementia Fund and age1 with Iaso Ventures and existing investors, added Arno de Wilde, Philip Scheltens and Alex Colville to its board, announced further leadership and board appointments on 15 April 2026, opened a Boston site on 1 June 2026 to accelerate AOC platform development, and announced the appointment of Uli Stilz and Itziar Canamasas to its board on 15 June 2026.