Dr James Hull and the Board of Continuum Life Sciences are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Bent Jakobsen as Continuum’s new Chief Executive Officer

Dr Jakobsen is one of the UK’s leading innovators within the fields of biomedicine and immunotherapy. He has cultivated strategic partnerships with a number of major pharmaceutical companies including Genentech, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly.

Continuum has the only extreme long-term cancer survivor cohort of its kind, created and curated by experts. To date, our work with six world renowned UK universities (Cardiff University, University of Manchester, University of Nottingham, University of Oxford, University of Surrey, and Swansea University) researching the cells of these survivors has resulted in remarkable discoveries and patent applications. The opening of our new commercial laboratory in Oxfordshire will allow us to move forward to produce the next generation of novel immunotherapies leading to radical changes in the way that cancer and, in particular, solid cell tumours are treated.

Dr Jakobsen said “I am absolutely delighted to join Continuum and look forward to building the organisation that will develop its exciting portfolio of programs. In collaboration with world-class academic laboratories studying long-term cancer survivors, Continuum has identified unique novel immune responses, the components of which we believe have the potential to be revolutionary in cancer treatment.”

Whilst Dr Jakobsen will succeed Dr Hull as CEO of Continuum, Dr Hull will maintain an active role as Executive Chairman and Founder, “I am delighted that Bent has agreed to come on board as CEO” said Dr Hull “Continuum is about to embark on its next exciting phase with the opening of our own laboratory and with his wealth of knowledge and experience, Bent will be an exceptional driving force.”

A pioneer in T-cell receptor (TCR) technology, Dr Jakobsen founded Immunocore and Adaptimmune which, under his leadership as Chief Scientific Officer, contributed towards the development of ground-breaking cancer therapeutics, several of which have been successfully taken to clinical trials. He received his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Aarhus University, Denmark in 1991. He is a visiting professor at the University of Oxford and has authored numerous scientific papers. In 2015, he was elected to the Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

For further information please contact Continuum on 0800 144 8488 or email Charlotte Lewis, charlottelewis@continuumlifesciences.com