What Hexagon Bio does

Hexagon Bio is a Menlo Park-based, privately held biopharmaceutical company founded in 2017 that applies a proprietary platform combining microbial genomics, machine learning, medicinal chemistry and synthetic biology to discover cytotoxic small molecules from fungal genomes for use as next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) payloads. The platform is anchored by an in-house database of more than 100,000 banked organismal strains and over 80,000 sequenced genomes — approximately 10x the size of all public databases combined — and has computationally mapped roughly 400 candidate ADC payload mechanisms of action spanning DNA/RNA, energy production, protein, lipid and cytoskeletal pathways. The company's lead program, HEX-360, is a HER2-targeting ADC built around a novel Protein Translation Inhibitor (PTI) payload designed to overcome resistance and tolerability limits of approved topoisomerase- and tubulin-based ADCs; HEX-360 is in IND-enabling studies with planned first-in-human entry in 1H 2027, supported by additional undisclosed programs (ADC 2, ADC 3 and Dual Combo 1) and a continuing novel-payload discovery track. Leadership includes CEO and co-founder Maureen Hillenmeyer, CSO Tara Arvedson and SVP Drug Discovery Victor Cee — both former Amgen leaders of the LUMAKRAS (sotorasib) program — under Chairman David Goeddel (Managing Partner, The Column Group).

Hexagon is pre-revenue with no marketed products; its economic model is built on three future revenue streams: (1) pharmaceutical development and licensing of ADC candidates through partnerships with larger biopharma, (2) royalty participation on commercialized assets, and (3) research funding, milestones and royalties from the December 2025 multi-million dollar joint venture with Corteva Agriscience to develop nature-inspired crop protection solutions. The company is financed by approximately $185.3 million of cumulative venture capital across the Column Group, 8VC, Two Sigma Ventures, Nextech Invest, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Casdin Capital and CPP Investments, and reaches the market primarily through scientific publications, conference presentations (AACR, WADC, ADC Analytical Development Summit), enterprise partnership outreach and a professional website; downstream ADC distribution is expected to flow through pharmaceutical licensing deals. Customer segments span oncology solid-tumor patients (primary), hematologic malignancies, infectious-disease applications and, via the Corteva partnership, agricultural crop protection.

Name

Hexagon Bio

Legal name

Hexagon Bio, Inc.

Website

https://hexagonbio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Hexagon Bio is a privately held, Menlo Park-based biopharmaceutical company using genomics, machine learning and synthetic biology to discover novel cytotoxic small molecules from microbial genomes for use as next-generation ADC payloads, with lead HER2 program HEX-360 in IND-enabling studies and a 2025 joint venture with Corteva for crop protection.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Oncology Biopharmaceuticals (ADC Development)

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836), Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) & Antibody Conjugates (HLAAAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Target Identification & Validation Platforms (omics-driven, chemoproteomics, genetic validation) (HLAAAIAI), Protein Interaction & Structural Biology Platforms (cryo-EM, X-ray, NMR, biophysics) (HLAAAIAH)

Keywords

• Antibody-drug conjugates
• ADC payloads
• Natural product discovery
• Oncology therapeutics
• Genomics drug discovery

Headquarters

HQ city

Menlo Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Pharmaceutical Development and Licensing: Hexagon Bio is a pre-revenue biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of next-generation ADC candidates. Revenue will be generated through clinical development partnerships, licensing deals, and eventual product commercialization upon regulatory approval.
2. Agricultural Technology Partnership: Multi-million dollar joint venture with Corteva Agriscience for nature-inspired crop protection solutions using fungal compounds, representing potential revenue through research funding, milestone payments, and future product royalties in agricultural applications.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hexagon Bio is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops novel small-molecule payloads for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) to overcome resistance to existing cancer treatments. The company's pipeline includes HER2-targeting ADC (HEX-360) and other solid tumor programs built on a proprietary platform combining genomics, machine learning, metabolomics, and synthetic biology to mine cytotoxic natural products from microbial genomes.

Product overview

Hexagon Bio is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery of novel small molecule payloads for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). The company's flagship offering is its proprietary ADC Payload Discovery Engine—a platform combining genomics, machine learning, metabolomics, chemistry, and synthetic biology to mine cytotoxic natural products from microbial genomes for use as ADC payloads. The product portfolio includes lead program HEX-360 (HER2-targeting ADC with novel Protein Translation Inhibitor payload in IND-enabling studies, planned clinical entry 1H 2027), ADC 2 (undisclosed solid tumor target), ADC 3 (dual-payload strategy), and Dual Combo 1. The platform has identified approximately 400 potential ADC payload mechanisms of action spanning cell cycle, transcription, translation, cytoskeleton, and other cancer-related pathways. Beyond oncology, the company expanded into agriculture through a December 2025 joint venture with Corteva for nature-inspired crop protection solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HEX-360 HER2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) featuring a novel Protein Translation Inhibitor (PTI) payload discovered by Hexagon Bio, designed to overcome resistance and poor tolerability associated with existing payload classes, targeting solid tumors with planned clinical entry in 1H 2027.
• ADC 2 Undisclosed next-generation ADC program targeting solid tumors, leveraging novel payload mechanisms beyond topoisomerase and tubulin inhibitors.
• ADC 3 Dual-payload ADC program utilizing multiple novel payload mechanisms to address resistance to existing ADC treatments and expand indication space.
• Dual Combo 1 Combination strategy involving dual payloads for enhanced therapeutic efficacy and overcoming resistance mechanisms in cancer treatment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Potency demonstrated at ≤10 nM concentrations in >90% of nearly 200 cell lines tested including topoisomerase and tubulin inhibitor-resistant lines
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Corteva AgriscienceflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 December 2025Corteva and Hexagon Bio formed a multi-million dollar joint venture on December 16, 2025, to accelerate the development of next-generation crop protection solutions inspired by nature. The partnership integrates Corteva's nature-inspired crop protection franchises and bacterial natural product discovery capabilities with Hexagon Bio's AI and synthetic biology-powered natural-product discovery platform. This marks the first ag-pharma collaboration for both companies. The JV was formed through Corteva Catalyst, Corteva's investment and collaboration platform that has partnered with 11 companies since its March 2024 launch. Commercial products remain years away given typical regulatory timelines.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mersana Therapeutics: Clinical-stage developer of next-generation ADCs with novel payload platforms (Dolasynthen, Immunosynthen) targeting oncology indications. Closely comparable to Hexagon in mission and modality.
• Pyxis Oncology: Developer of antibody-drug conjugates with novel payloads and tumor-targeting approaches for solid tumors. Comparable pipeline stage and ADC-focused strategy.
• Tubulis: German biotech developing novel ADC payloads and linkers with proprietary chemistry platforms. Directly comparable as a novel-payload ADC developer focused on solid tumors.
• Bolt Biotherapeutics: Clinical-stage developer of immune-stimulating antibody conjugates (ISACs), a related next-generation ADC approach. Comparable mechanism novelty and oncology focus.
• CytomX Therapeutics: Developer of Probody-based conditionally activated ADCs and other next-generation antibody conjugates. Comparable platform-based ADC strategy with novel payload approaches.
• Sutro Biopharma: Developer of ADCs and other biologics using cell-free protein synthesis platform with multiple novel payload programs in oncology. Comparable ADC pipeline strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Daiichi Sankyo: Major pharmaceutical company behind Enhertu, the leading HER2-targeting ADC. Represents the dominant incumbent that HEX-360 directly competes against in HER2-positive tumors.
• Pfizer (Seagen): Pfizer's Seagen subsidiary pioneered ADC commercialization with Adcetris and other approved ADCs. Represents the broad incumbent ADC platform competitor Hexagon must differentiate against.

Emerging players

• Recursion Pharmaceuticals: AI-driven drug discovery platform combining machine learning with high-throughput biology to discover novel therapeutics. Comparable platform-approach to small molecule discovery at Hexagon, though with broader therapeutic scope.
• IDEAYA Biosciences: Precision oncology company developing targeted therapies including synthetic lethality and ADC-adjacent programs. Connected to Hexagon via board director Yujiro Hata (IDEAYA CEO).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hexagon-bio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors10 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hexagon Bio