Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.US) continues to expand innovative therapies: collaborated with SAIL to develop in-vivo Car-T and obtained a $2.58 billion acquisition option to complete the acquisition of Firefly Bio

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.US) revealed two cutting-edge biomedical layouts on July 29 (Wednesday) local time. Johnson & Johnson announced a partnership with Sail Biomedicines to jointly advance the internal CAR-T therapy program, and obtained the exclusive option to acquire Sail for US$2.58 billion; the company announced on the same day that it had completed a transaction to acquire Firefly Bio for $1 billion in cash to help advance innovative research and development of next-generation oncology.

Johnson & Johnson said in a statement on Wednesday that under the terms of the agreement reached with Sail, Johnson & Johnson will make a total initial payment of US$785 million, including an equity investment of US$465 million and an additional contingent payment of US$140 million when reaching specific development milestones. If Johnson & Johnson decides to exercise this acquisition option, it will also pay an additional $2.58 billion. Assuming that option is exercised, Johnson & Johnson expects the agreement to dilute its adjusted operating earnings per share and adjusted earnings per share by approximately $0.18 and $1.28 in 2026 and 2027, respectively.

According to public information, Sail was founded in October 2023 to develop a new type of RNA molecule that can directly function in the body. The company is committed to developing a technology called in-vivo CAR-T, which can reprogram immune cells.

Sail said in a statement in April this year that the company is developing a nanoparticle delivery system that can deliver RNA to immune cells in the human body, which is expected to cure autoimmune diseases.

Johnson & Johnson said in a statement that in vivo CAR-T therapy is one of the most promising cutting-edge technologies in the medical field and is expected to bring revolutionary treatment options for various cancers and immune-mediated diseases. Unlike traditional cell therapies, Sail's core pipeline and technology platform aims to reprogram immune cells directly in the patient's body to reset the immune system and achieve long-lasting disease control results. Through this collaboration, Johnson & Johnson and Sail will combine the professional advantages of both parties to advance the development of innovative in vivo CAR-T therapies. These treatments are expected to improve patients' treatment results and ultimately provide curative treatment plans for patients with complex diseases.

Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson announced the completion of the acquisition of biotech company Firefly Bio. The deal is expected to generate approximately $1 billion in R&D expenses in the third quarter of 2026. Johnson & Johnson also anticipates that the deal will dilute adjusted operating earnings per share and adjusted earnings per share for 2026 and 2027, respectively, by approximately $0.46 and $0.08.

Johnson & Johnson said that after completing the transaction to acquire Firefly Bio, the company further strengthened its capabilities in next-generation antibody engineering and expanded its strategy to address complex tumor biology.

The new drug market continues to expand, supporting the growth of Johnson & Johnson's performance. According to financial reports, Johnson & Johnson's Q2 revenue reached US$25.31 billion, up 6.6% year over year, exceeding expectations; non-GAAP earnings per share were US$2.90, which also exceeded expectations. Among them, the revenue of the innovative drug business segment increased 7.8% year over year to approximately US$16.4 billion.

Earlier this week, Johnson & Johnson also announced that it had agreed to pay $5.5 billion to resolve years of litigation relating to ovarian cancer caused by its talc products. This settlement will help resolve the dispute that has plagued Johnson & Johnson for at least 15 years.

Eric Haas, vice president of Johnson & Johnson litigation affairs, said at the time, “Although we firmly believe that if the trial continues, the company will eventually win the case like most cases so far, this settlement will allow the company to completely resolve the matter and continue to focus on the core mission of developing life-saving drugs and medical devices.”

Since this year, Johnson & Johnson's stock price has increased by nearly 30% cumulatively.