Aerska Deepens Leadership Bench to Advance Brain-Shuttle RNA Platform After $39 Million Series A

New updates have been reported about Aerska.

Aerska has expanded its senior leadership and governance as it prepares its brain shuttle-enabled RNA interference (RNAi) platform for clinical development in central nervous system (CNS) diseases. The Dublin- and London-based biotech appointed veteran oligonucleotide developer Stuart Milstein as Chief Platform Officer and added seasoned biotech operator and legal executive Lisa Taylor Ash to its Board of Directors.

These moves follow Aerska’s recent $39 million Series A round and are aimed at accelerating platform innovation, program selection, and operational readiness for first-in-human studies. Milstein, who previously led RNAi platform work at Alnylam, Korro Bio, and Sail Biomedicines, will oversee strategy and development of Aerska’s antibody-oligo conjugate (AOC) and brain shuttle technology, with a focus on achieving durable, targeted gene knockdown in the brain despite the blood-brain barrier.

Ash, currently COO of Sonoma Bio and formerly COO & General Counsel at Shape Therapeutics, joins the board to support financing, strategic partnerships, and risk-aware scaling as Aerska transitions from preclinical to clinical-stage. Her background in guiding companies through manufacturing, clinical development, and commercialization, as well as building legal and compliance infrastructure at multiple biotechs, is intended to strengthen Aerska’s governance and transaction-readiness.

Management frames these appointments as foundational to turning Aerska’s CNS delivery science into a repeatable drug development engine in an area where RNA therapeutics have struggled to reach the brain. As the company advances toward IND-enabling work, investors and partners should expect increased emphasis on platform validation data, target selection in high-burden neurological indications, and potential partnering discussions around its brain shuttle-enabled RNAi capabilities, which together will shape Aerska’s capital needs, valuation trajectory, and strategic options over the next phases of growth.