Johnson & Johnson agreed to acquire Firefly Bio for $1 billion in cash, aiming to expand its oncology pipeline with degrader-antibody conjugates (DACs). The deal gives J&J access to Firefly’s “Firelink” platform and linker technology, designed to deliver protein degraders to tumors rather than conventional cytotoxic payloads. J&J said the acquisition is meant to overcome limitations seen with some antibody-drug conjugates, including payload release constraints. Firefly’s preclinical work has emphasized KRAS-driven solid tumors, a target class that has been difficult to drug with traditional approaches. The transaction is expected to close later this year, extending J&J’s recent interest in next-generation ADC-adjacent modalities. Industry observers view DACs as a bet on improved pharmacology for hard-to-treat proteins by coupling tumor targeting with induced degradation. For biotech companies, the Firefly deal highlights how quickly big pharma is reallocating capital toward precision payload delivery approaches as patent landscapes shift in established antibody platforms.