Aila Biotech is developing low-dose, controllable CNS gene delivery that enables the brain to locally produce immune-modulating biologics designed to reduce neuroinflammation while minimizing systemic exposure.
Lead Programme
PPMS
Primary Progressive MS
Using the Brain
to Produce Targeted Therapeutics
THE UNMET NEED
Progressive neurological disease is driven inside the brain.
Most biologics are not.
The blood–brain barrier restricts therapeutic access, while systemic dosing can increase off-target exposure, repeat administration and manufacturing burden.
BRAIN DELIVERY
CONTROLLED DELIVERY
Primary Progressive MS is the clinical entry point.
Chronic neuroinflammation is the goal.
AILA-001 is our lead programme, designed for PPMS with potential expansion across multiple CNS indications driven by shared neuroinflammatory pathways.
One Shared Biology — >100M CNS Patients
ABOUT US
Prof James Dooley
CEO & Co-founder
Prof James Dooley is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Aila Biotech, where he leads the company's strategy, financing, and development of next-generation gene therapies for neuroinflammatory diseases. James co-founded Aila Biotech to overcome the fundamental barriers that have limited gene therapy in the brain. Under his leadership, the company has developed a proprietary brain-targeted AAV platform that enables safe, controllable, and commercially scalable delivery of biologics directly to the central nervous system. Prior to founding Aila, James held research positions at the University of Washington (USA), the University of Alberta (Canada), VIB–KU Leuven (Belgium), and the University of Cambridge (UK). His research has focused on regulatory T cells, tissue immunology, and immune-mediated neurological disease, providing the scientific foundation for Aila's technology. Together with Professor Adrian Liston, James established the Translational Immunology Laboratory at VIB–KU Leuven before relocating the programme to the University of Cambridge, where he is a Research Professor in the Department of Pathology. He has authored more than 65 peer-reviewed publications and is an inventor on multiple patent families underpinning Aila Biotech's platform. James combines deep scientific expertise with a clear commercial vision, leading Aila's mission to develop transformative therapies for patients with progressive neurological diseases.
Prof Adrian Liston
CSO & Co-founder
Prof Adrian Liston is CSO and founder of Aila Biotech and the Professor of Pathology at the University of Cambridge. Liston is a leading immunologist specialising in regulatory T cell biology, neuroimmunology, immune tolerance, and biotechnology. He has degrees from University of Adelaide, Australian National University, University of Queensland, and the University of Cambridge. Liston and Dooley have run a joint lab together for nearly 20 years, at the VIB & KU Leuven in Belgium, the Babraham Institute, and now the University of Cambridge. Prof Liston has published more than 270 scientific articles, including work in leading journals such as Cell, Nature Immunology, Immunity, Science Immunology, Nature Medicine and Nature Reviews Immunology. His research has helped define fundamental mechanisms of immune regulation and has supported the development of new therapeutic strategies for autoimmune and neuroinflammatory disease. At Aila Biotech, Prof Liston leads the scientific strategy around CNS-targeted immune modulation, combining deep expertise in Treg biology, IL-2 systems and translational immunology to support the development of brain-produced biologics for chronic neuroinflammation. His work underpins Aila’s approach to restoring local immune balance in the CNS while limiting systemic immune exposure.
Dr Jo Jones
Clinical Trial Advisor – Neuroimmunology
Dr Jo Jones is an Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge and an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, where she specialises in the care of people with multiple sclerosis. Dr Jones trained in medicine at the University of Bristol and completed her PhD in neuroimmunology at the University of Cambridge. She leads a translational neuroimmunology laboratory focused on understanding immune dysregulation in MS and other neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. Her research has made major contributions to the understanding of immune reconstitution-associated autoimmunity following Lemtrada treatment in MS, tissue-specific immune heterogeneity, ageing-related immune change, and human regulatory T cell biology. She has published more than 70 scientific papers and her work has appeared in leading journals including Science, Nature Immunology, Lancet Neurology and Journal of Clinical Investigation. Dr Jones has extensive clinical trial experience in MS, including Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies of alemtuzumab, the CCMR-One remyelination study, and investigator-led experimental medicine studies. At Aila Biotech, she provides clinical neuroimmunology expertise to support the development of AILA-001 for primary progressive MS and broader CNS inflammatory indications.
Prof Matthew
Holt
Co-founder & Head of SAB
Prof Matthew Holt is Co-Founder and Head of the Scientific Advisory Board at Aila Biotech. He is an internationally recognised neurobiologist with deep expertise in astrocyte biology, astrocyte–neuron interactions, CNS gene delivery and blood–brain barrier-crossing technologies. Prof Holt is the ERA Chair for Neurobiology at the Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), University of Porto, where he leads research into astrocyte heterogeneity and how specialised astrocyte populations shape neuronal function across different brain regions and synapse types. His work has helped define how glial cells regulate CNS physiology and how these pathways can be harnessed for therapeutic delivery. A major translational focus of Prof Holt’s research has been the development of blood–brain barrier-crossing viral vector systems that enable sustained local production and secretion of therapeutics from CNS cells — a “bio-pharmacy” concept closely aligned with Aila’s brain-produced biologics platform. At Aila Biotech, Prof Holt brings critical expertise in astrocyte biology, CNS targeting and gene delivery strategy. His work supports Aila’s approach to using brain-resident cells to produce immune-modulating biologics locally, with the goal of treating chronic neuroinflammation while reducing systemic exposure.
Dr Ed Needham
Medical Director & Clinical Neuroimmunology Advisor
Dr Edward Needham is a Consultant in Neurology and Neurocritical Care at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and Clinical Lead for Neuroimmunology. He is also a Researcher at the University of Cambridge, with clinical and translational expertise spanning neuroimmunology, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury and neurocritical care. Dr Needham trained in medicine at the University of East Anglia before completing specialist clinical training in neurology and neurocritical care. He was awarded a PhD from the University of Cambridge, where his research focused on immune responses in acute brain injury and neuroinflammatory disease. He has experience across clinical research and clinical trial activity, including work on MS studies and translational neuroimmunology programmes. His publications include clinical and mechanistic studies in multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, COVID-related neurological disease and CNS immune disorders. At Aila Biotech, Dr Needham provides clinical neuroimmunology expertise to support the development of AILA-001 for primary progressive multiple sclerosis and broader CNS inflammatory indications. His role helps bridge Aila’s therapeutic platform with clinical disease biology, patient need, trial design and translational development strategy.