Oxfordshire: New head of PR for Adaptimmune and Immunocore

Margaret Henry has been appointed head of PR at Adaptimmune and Immunocore, the sister biotechnology companies developing potential breakthrough treatments based on using the body’s own immune system to fight cancer.  These rapidly-growing companies are based in Oxfordshire and Adaptimmune also has a US operation.

Adaptimmune is focused on the use of engineered T cells to treat cancer and has multiple clinical trials in progress.  The company recently announced that it will take a second T cell-based therapy into the clinic in triple negative breast cancer during 2015, supported by a major grant from the Technology Strategy Board.

Immunocore is developing novel biological drugs called ImmTACs for the treatment of cancer and viral infection, and has major discovery collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline and MedImmune, part of AstraZeneca.  The company has also progressed its clinical programme IMCgp100 into a Phase IIa trial in melanoma.