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Aerska, which uses brain shuttle technology to deliver RNAi therapeutics to the brain, announced the close of a $39 million Series A financing round, bringing its total funding to $60 million.
EQT Dementia Fund and age1 led the round, with participation from Iaso Ventures and existing investors.
Arno de Wilde, managing director at EQT; Philip Scheltens, partner and head of the dementia fund at EQT; and Alex Colville, general partner at age1, will join Aerska's board of directors.
WHAT IT DOES
The company uses brain shuttle technology to deliver RNA interference (RNAi) medicines via targeted delivery to help treat neurological diseases. The technology serves as a drug-delivery platform that transports RNAi across the blood-brain barrier.
The technology works by creating antibodies or molecules that bind to specific receptors on the surface of the blood-brain barrier. This action tricks the barrier into allowing the therapeutic agent to pass through the endothelial cells and into the brain parenchyma.
The Irish company will use the funds to enhance its brain shuttle technology.
"The ability to systemically administer RNAi therapies to the brain unlocks a powerful new approach to treating neurodegeneration," Jack O'Meara, CEO and cofounder of Aerska, said in a statement.
"Partnering with EQT Dementia Fund further strengthens our path to the clinic as we work to translate this capability into meaningful therapies for the treatment of genetically driven forms of Alzheimer's disease and other devastating brain disorders," he continued.
MARKET SNAPSHOT
Aerska launched in October with $21 million in seed funding.
Age1, Backed VC and Speedinvest led the round, with participation from Blueyard, Lingotto (Exor), Norrsken VC, Kerna, PsyMed, Saras and Ada Ventures.
Other companies that use brain shuttle technology include pharma giant Roche. In November, Roche announced a partnership with Manifold Bio, which combines AI-guided drug discovery with direct-to-vivo measurement.
The partners' strategic research collaboration and license agreement apply Manifold's tissue-targeting shuttle portfolio and mDesign AI-enabled in vivo discovery offering to develop blood-brain barrier shuttles for the treatment of neurodegenerative and neurological diseases.
