Graham Silk | Co-Founder

Graham is Chairman of Hampson Investments, an investment holding company with interests in different sectors cross the UK and internationally. In February 2001, he was named as “one to watch” in a business magazine, however later in that same month he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia. Having been given only 3 years to live, he was lucky to become one of only 45 people to enter the only UK trial for the first example of personalised medicine for the revolutionary drug, now known as Glivec.

Following successful treatment, together with his Professor, Charlie Craddock, he co-founded the charity Cure Leukaemia, with the intention of taking luck out of the equation for other blood cancer patients. This was achieved by creating a trials acceleration programme (TAP) thereby accelerating access to new and better drugs and Patient treatments.

In the last 16 years, the charity has helped fund and create an increasing network of trial centres which has enabled it to leverage c£250 million worth of drugs – free to the NHS – creating over 200 jobs and developing strong and mutually beneficial relationships with industry, helping the TAP network to become one of the leading global operations for haemato-oncology treatment.

This successful model of accelerated access to 21C medicine was the concept and template behind the creation of the newly developed ITM in Birmingham and was cited as an exemplar in the 2017 National Life Sciences Government strategy. In early 2015 Graham was asked by Andy Street to author the report on Life Sciences in Birmingham. This report identified regional strengths in order to create a roadmap to assist in driving the health economy around Life Sciences within the region.

Graham loves his cycling and has taken part in London 2 Paris in 2015 and 2019 when his daughter Ali joined him.