NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Firefly Bio, Inc. for $1 billion in cash, according to a press release statement.
Firefly Bio is a biotechnology company developing a degrader antibody conjugate platform called Firelink, which targets KRAS-driven tumors. The platform delivers protein degraders to tumor cells while avoiding healthy cells.
The transaction is expected to close later this year, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. The accounting treatment will be communicated on or before the transaction closes.
KRAS-driven cancers have limited treatment options, with survival typically measured in months. "KRAS has notoriously been considered an undruggable target and patients with KRAS-driven cancers continue to face limited treatment options with survival measured in months, not years," said John Reed, Executive Vice President of Innovative Medicine, Research & Development at Johnson & Johnson.
The acquisition adds preclinical candidates for treating multiple types of solid tumors to Johnson & Johnson’s oncology pipeline. The Firelink platform represents an approach to antibody therapeutics that differs from existing treatments including monoclonal antibodies, bi-specifics, multi-specifics, and antibody drug conjugates.
Johnson & Johnson has been developing oncology therapies for more than three decades. The company operates in two segments: Innovative Medicine and MedTech.
The all-cash transaction values Firefly Bio at $1 billion. No additional financial terms were disclosed in the announcement.
In other recent news, Johnson & Johnson announced that its drug nipocalimab successfully met the primary endpoint in a Phase 2 study for systemic lupus erythematosus, showing significant improvement in disease activity at 24 weeks. The company also reported that its drug apalutamide, when combined with hormone therapy, reduced the risk of metastasis or death by 20% in high-risk prostate cancer patients in its Phase 3 PROTEUS study. Additionally, Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary Abiomed won a jury trial in Massachusetts, successfully defending its heart pump technology against patent infringement claims from Maquet Cardiovascular.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an expanded label for Johnson & Johnson’s Tremfya, now including evidence for inhibiting joint damage progression in psoriatic arthritis, based on positive results from the Phase 3b APEX study. In another development, DePuy Synthes, a Johnson & Johnson company, secured an exclusive distribution agreement with CGBIO for the NOVOSIS bone graft substitute in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, with potential for further market expansion. These updates highlight Johnson & Johnson’s ongoing efforts in advancing its pharmaceutical and medical device portfolios.
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