About Firefly Bio
Firefly Bio is a Healthcare company based in San Francisco (United States) founded in 2022 by John Flygare, Carolyn Bertozzi, and Bernhard Geierstanger, and was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in June 2026. Firefly Bio has raised $94 million across 3 funding rounds from investors including Lilly, Johnson & Johnson and HHS. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Scott Hirsch. Firefly Bio offers products and services including Degrader Antibody Conjugates and Proprietary Platform. Its focus areas include Life Sciences, Oncology, Drugs and Diversified. Its legal entity is Firefly Bio, Inc. Its competitors include Moderna, BeiGene and Incyte; 2 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Developer of antibody drug conjugates for the treatment of cancer. The company uses potent catalytic protein degraders as the payloads of ADCs to develop class of therapeutics for a range of intracellular biological targets such as both solid and liquid tumors.
- Headquarters San Francisco, United States
- Founders John Flygare, Carolyn Bertozzi, Bernhard Geierstanger
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsHealthcare
- Email••••••••
- Website fireflybiologics.com
- Social LinkedIn
- Acquired by Johnson & Johnson (Jun 2026)
- Legal Name Firefly Bio, Inc.
- Total Equity Funding$94M (USD)
in 3 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$94M (USD), Series A
Dec 2023
- InvestorsLilly
& 5 more
- Acquired byJohnson & Johnson
(Jun 2026)
Products & Services of Firefly Bio
Firefly Bio offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Degrader Antibody Conjugates and Proprietary Platform.
Combines ADCs with protein degraders for targeted tissue delivery.
Enables scalable production and delivery of ADC payloads.
Funding Insights of Firefly Bio
Firefly Bio has successfully raised a total of $94M across 3 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series A round of $94 million completed in December 2023. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $94M
- Total Rounds 3
- Last Round Series A — $94M
- First Round $176,400
(Mar 2022)
- Investors Count 5
All 3 funding rounds of Firefly Bio with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2023 | $94M | Series A | – | Versant Ventures, MPM Capital | |
| Sep 2022 | $1.98M | Grant | – | – | |
| Mar 2022 | $176,400 | Grant | – | – |
6 investors in total: 6 institutional.
Investors in Firefly Bio
Firefly Bio has secured backing from 6 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Lilly, Johnson & Johnson and HHS.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Venture capital firm managing investments in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals since 1999. | versantventures.com | |||
Venture capital firm focused on life science and technology sectors | decheng.com | Shanghai, China | ||
Invests in biotech firms developing life-saving drugs and technologies. | mpmcapital.com | |||
Traditional pharmaceutical medicines are developed for multiple health fields. | 1876 | lilly.com | United States | |
Public health and human services are overseen by HHS. | 1953 | hhs.gov | ||
Healthcare solutions are provided by Johnson & Johnson globally. | 1886 | jnj.com | New Brunswick, United States |
Investor details for Firefly Bio
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People of Firefly Bio
12 people are tracked at Firefly Bio (9 in leadership, 3 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
John Flygare | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Carolyn Bertozzi | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Bernhard Geierstanger | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Scott Hirsch | CEO | Leadership |
Vicky Lin | Associate Director, In Vivo Biology | Leadership |
Sean Smith | Vice President Head Of Chemistry | Leadership |
Mark Lackner | Chief Scientific Officer | Leadership |
Daniel Kaplan | Chief Scientific Officer | Leadership |
Gabriele Schaefer | Director, Biology | Leadership |
Vidya Shivatare | Senior Scientist L | Team |
Christoph Grohmann | Senior Scientist, II | Team |
Zhe Wang | Senior Scientist II | Team |
Complete people profiles for Firefly Bio
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Timeline of Firefly Bio
4 dated milestones of Firefly Bio across 4 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Firefly Bio is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $176K.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series A, of $94.0M.
- Exit Acquired by Johnson & Johnson.
Competitors of Firefly Bio
Firefly Bio has 3 listed competitors in our database, 2 of them funded. They include Moderna, BeiGene and Incyte.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| modernatx.com | 2010 | Cambridge, United States | $2.78B | 1,312 | mRNA-based therapeutics for diseases including cancer and infections are developed. | |
| beigene.com | 2010 | Cambridge, United States | $172M | 1,090 | Targeted and immune-oncology drugs for cancer treatment are developed. | |
| incyte.com | 1991 | Wilmington, United States | 1,387 | Small molecules are developed for cancer and skin disease treatments. |
Detailed competitors of Firefly Bio
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Web traffic of Firefly Bio
The website of Firefly Bio (fireflybiologics.com) receives about 1.8K visits a month.
- Monthly visits1.8K
▼ 4.3% vs previous month
Top companies in Immunology & Cancer Therapeutics
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Firefly Bio (Immunology & Cancer Therapeutics) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mRNA-based therapeutics for diseases including cancer and infections are developed. | 2010 | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | USD 2.78 B | USD 1.94 B | 5,800 | |
Targeted and immune-oncology drugs for cancer treatment are developed. | 2010 | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | USD 172 M | |||
Immuno-modulatory therapies for dementia and neurodegenerative disorders are developed. | 2013 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 214.78 M | USD 21.05 M | 211 |
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Frequently Asked Questions about Firefly Bio
Firefly Bio was founded in 2022.
Firefly Bio is headquartered in San Francisco, United States. It is registered at San Francisco, California, United States.
Scott Hirsch is the CEO of Firefly Bio, as recorded in our data.
Firefly Bio is a funded company, having raised a total of $94M across 3 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Grant of $176.4K, raised on Mar 2022.
Developer of antibody drug conjugates for the treatment of cancer. The company uses potent catalytic protein degraders as the payloads of ADCs to develop class of therapeutics for a range of intracellular biological targets such as both solid and liquid tumors.
Firefly Bio offers Degrader Antibody Conjugates and Proprietary Platform.
Firefly Bio has 6 investors. Key investors include Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, HHS, Versant Ventures, and Turmeric Acquisition Corp.
Firefly Bio operates through Firefly Bio, Inc..
Yes. Firefly Bio was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in June 2026.