Immunocore Ltd has strengthened its board by appointing Laura Wade-Gery and Kristine Peterson as non-executive directors, the privately owned company announced on Thursday.

Laura Wade-Gery brings to the board over 20 years' executive experience in major publicly-listed companies. Her most recent position saw her serve as executive director at Marks & Spencer Group plc (LON: MKS), where she led the digital transformation of the business, resulting in online sales doubling.

She has also held numerous senior positions at Tesco plc (LON: TSCO), most notably CEO of the online business for seven years, and has been a member of the board of Trinity Mirror plc (LON: TNI). She is currently a non-executive director on the boards of the John Lewis Partnership and British Land plc (LON: BLND). She is also a member of the Government Digital Strategy Advisory Board.

Kristine Peterson has more than 30 years' experience in the global pharmaceutical and biotech industry, most recently serving as CEO for Valeritas Inc. Here she progressed the company to commercialisation and achieved US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) approval for its Type 2 diabetes drug device.

Her previous roles include company group chair at Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and president and SVP of commercial operations for Biovail Corporation. She also worked at Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) for 20 years, holding several senior roles, including being responsible for its cardiovascular and metabolics business unit.

Peterson remains a member of other boards of directors for several pharmaceutical and biotech companies, including Amarin Corporation (NASDAQ: AMRN), Paratek Pharmaceuticals (NASAQ: PRTK), Enanta Pharmaceutics (NASDAQ: ENTA), pSivida (NASDAQ: PSDV) and ImmunoGen (NASDAQ: IMGN). She is also senior advisor to the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association and was a member of the Biotechnology Industry Organization Board.