June 8 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson said on Monday it will acquire biotech Firefly Bio for $1 billion in cash, as it looks to expand its cancer drug pipeline.
Firefly's Firelink platform uses antibodies to deliver a protein-degrading drug directly into cancer cells, an approach J&J says could help attack tumors while sparing more healthy tissue than existing treatments.
The platform for tumors with a mutation in a gene known as KRAS "bolsters Johnson & Johnson's oncology pipeline and ambition to develop targeted medicines for the most prevalent and hard-to-treat solid tumors with high unmet need," said the drugmaker.
continue to face limited treatment options with survival measured in months, not years," said John Reed, executive vice president, innovative medicine, research & development at J&J.
The transaction is expected to close later this year.
Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli
Source: Reuters