Hexagon Bio Appoints Yujiro Hata to Board of Directors

• A seasoned industry leader, Mr. Hata brings a track record of building innovative companies that have delivered breakthrough medicines for patients
• Hexagon is advancing a pipeline of novel antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) leveraging next-generation natural product-based payloads to address significant unmet need in cancer

/EIN News/ -- MENLO PARK, Calif., Nov. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hexagon Bio, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery of novel small molecule payloads for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), announced today the appointment of industry leader Yujiro Hata to its Board of Directors. An entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience building companies that have advanced innovative therapies, Mr. Hata currently serves as President and CEO of precision oncology-focused IDEAYA Biosciences.

“Leveraging our discovery platform, we have identified a broad spectrum of next-generation natural product-based cytotoxic payloads for ADCs. These innovations are driving the pipeline of novel ADCs targeting significant unmet needs in solid tumors and hematologic malignancies,” said Maureen Hillenmeyer, Ph.D., CEO of Hexagon. “We’re excited to welcome Yujiro to our Board. His deep expertise in oncology and strategic insights will be invaluable as we progress our programs toward the clinic.”
  
Hexagon’s platform integrates machine learning, genomics, chemistry, and synthetic biology to mine the global metagenome – comprising millions of microbial and plant species – to systematically discover new chemical compounds linked to cancer-related targets, with a focus on ADC payloads. Hexagon’s most advanced ADC programs leverage proprietary protein translation inhibitor payloads designed to overcome resistance and improve efficacy across tumor types. In addition, the company is pursuing the discovery and development of multiple other novel ADC payloads with mechanisms orthogonal to existing payloads.

“I’m excited to join Hexagon’s board and collaborate with Maureen and the team. Many of today’s approved small molecule cancer drugs originated from natural products, including all currently used ADC payloads. With its computational and drug discovery expertise to mine untapped natural products as anti-cancer molecules, Hexagon is positioned to be a next-generation ADC leader. The deep pipeline of ADC candidates Hexagon is building demonstrates the efficiency and promise of its approach.”

In 2015, Mr. Hata launched and incorporated IDEAYA Biosciences as its founder and CEO and led the company’s IPO in May 2019. Prior to IDEAYA, Mr. Hata served as an Executive-in-Residence at 5AM Ventures. Previously, he served as Chief Operating Officer at Flexus Biosciences, which he led through its acquisition by Bristol-Myers Squibb, and then served as Chief Operating Officer at FLX Bio (renamed RAPT Therapeutics, a spinout of Flexus Biosciences). Mr. Hata also served as Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, including through the approvals of Kyprolis® and Stivarga®, international commercial expansion, and the company’s acquisition by Amgen. Prior to Onyx, Mr. Yata served as Vice President, Business Development, Senior Vice President, Business Development, and Chief Business Officer at Enanta Pharmaceuticals, which discovered the protease inhibitors in Viekira Pak and Mavyret™, both of which received Breakthrough Therapy designation and FDA approval. He earlier served in roles at McKinsey, ImClone and Columbia Medical School.

Mr. Hata obtained his M.B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania, his B.A. in chemistry at Colorado College and did undergraduate studies in chemistry and biology at Oxford University. He currently serves on the Board of Directors at Enanta Pharmaceuticals, and as Board Member at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego.

About Hexagon Bio
Hexagon Bio is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovering novel payloads for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) to address critical unmet needs in oncology. Leveraging a proprietary platform, the company mines cytotoxic small molecules from microbial genomes for use as ADC payloads. Advances in DNA sequencing have enabled the identification of both existing ADC payloads—such as topoisomerase and tubulin inhibitors—and novel payload mechanisms targeting essential cancer pathways such as protein translation. Hexagon Bio is advancing a pipeline of next-generation ADC candidates with novel payloads designed to treat a wide range of solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Learn more at www.hexagonbio.com.

Media/Investor Contact:

Liz Melone
liz@melonecomm.com