Firefly Bio Emerges from Stealth with $94M Series A to Advance Novel Degradation-Antibody Conjugate (DAC) Platform for Cancer Therapy

Feb 16, 2024 13:25 CST Updated 13:25

Firefly Bio

Cancer Treatment Platform Developer

Versant Ventures

Healthcare Investment Institutions

MPM BioImpact

Healthcare Investment Institutions

Eli Lilly

Global Pharmaceutical R&D and Production Company

On February 15, in South San Francisco, California, Firefly Bio emerged from stealth mode, completing a $94 million Series A financing round led by founding investors Versant Ventures, MPM BioImpact, and Decheng Capital, with participation from Eli Lilly and Company. Firefly has developed a novel platform for treating cancer using Degradation Antibody Conjugates (DAC).

DAC Represents the Convergence of Two Technologies — Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADC) and Protein Degraders. While each approach is powerful, both have significant limitations. Although traditional ADCs exhibit good bioavailability and the ability to target cells, their therapeutic index is often limited due to the broad cytotoxic payloads. Moreover, ADCs lack the ability to knock out specific intracellular proteins.

For protein degraders, the situation is exactly the opposite — these therapies exhibit intracellular selectivity, protein knockdown, and high catalytic activity. However, they struggle with bioavailability and lack the ability for cell-specific targeting.

FireflyThe platform combines the respective advantages of ADC and degraders while overcoming their shortcomings. The result is a new therapeutic approach capable of precisely targeting a range of intracellular biological targets.Administration, these targets were previously hindered by therapeutic index issues when administered systemically.

Firefly Bio, Inc. CEO Scott Hirsch said:"DAC is a new model for cancer. They enable us to hit biologically validated targets with minimal collateral damage. Our platform enables large-scale DAC and significantly increases the payload capacity of ADCs."

FireflyThe platform uses powerful catalytic protein degraders as payloads for ADCs. The company's proprietary Firelink conjugation technology incorporates these modalities, reducing free payload in circulation and minimizing uptake by healthy cells. This results in a lower dose required for optimal efficacy. In preclinical studies of solid and hematological tumors, single-dose administrationFireflyThe DAC showed that at very low doses, the tumor volume was significantly reduced.

FireflyIt was nurtured in close collaboration with scientists from Versant Ridgeline Discovery Engine, located in the Basel Technology Park. These efforts have helped the company quickly establish proof-of-concept and advance its leading assets.

FireflyLed by seasoned executives with a deep history and expertise in biotech innovation, ADC development, and degradation chemistry. The team is headed by CEO Scott Hirsch, who previously served as Chief Operating Officer at Allakos, overseeing multiple early- and late-stage ADC projects, as well as directly managing commercial, portfolio, and operations teams. Co-founder and CSO Dr. John Flygare has led ADC teams at Genentech and Merck, and was among the first to bring ADCs and degraders into clinical applications. Co-founder and CTO Dr. Bernhard Geiertanger is a biologics expert who has led ADC teams at Novartis and Merck, and developed platforms for protein modification and conjugation. Co-founder Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work in bioorthogonal chemistry.In the worldADC Expert.

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