Revolutionary Protein Degraders Integrated into Antibody-Drug Conjugates: Carolyn Bertozzi and Versant Launch New Biotech with $94 Million Funding

1. Carolyn Bertozzi and Versant Ventures have launched a new biotechnology company called Firefly Bio, which received $94 million in funding.
2. This funding was co-led by Versant and MPM BioImpact, along with Decheng Capital and Eli Lilly.
3. Firefly Bio aims to revolutionize cancer treatment by combining traditional ADCs with protein degraders, creating a new class of therapies known as DACs (Degrader-Antibody Conjugates).
4. The leadership team includes industry veterans from Genentech, Merck & Co., AbbVie, and other prominent companies, such as CEO Scott Hirsch and CSO John Flygare, Ph.D.
5. Nobel laureate Carolyn Bertozzi, Ph.D., also contributes her expertise in ADCs to the project.
6. The goal is to replace conventional cytotoxic payloads in ADCs with more targeted protein degraders that leverage the cell's natural degradation machinery to eliminate disease-causing proteins, potentially leading to improved therapeutic outcomes.
7. Firefly Bio's approach seeks to expand the range of targets accessible to ADCs, thereby opening up new possibilities for treating various diseases.