DOLSTEN
Mikael

• 1. Early life
• 2. Career
• 2.1. Pharmacia
• 2.2. AstraZeneca
• 2.3. Pfizer
• 3. Personal life

Mikael Dolsten is a Swedish-American physician scientist , and the President of research & development-Medical (chief scientific officer) of the American Pharmaceutical company Pfizer.

Early life

He was born Mikael Dohlsten. He is Jewish. 

Dolsten attended Kattegattskolan in Halmstad, Sweden (Kattegattgymnasiet), a gymnasium secondary school in Halmstad, graduating in 1975. He grew up in Halmstad Municipality in the south-west of Sweden.

He studied Medicine from January 1979 to 1985 at Lund University in Sweden and obtained a PhD in cancer immunology 1988 at Lund University. Dolsten was appointed Associate professor 1990 and Adjunct Professor in Immunology 1996. He was selected as top candidate for a Professorship at Uppsala in Immunology 1997. Dolsten has published some 150 original articles and reviews in scientific journals on the topic of immunology, oncology, cell biology, drug discovery and authored several patents. He pursued scientific studies in immunology and virology 1981 at the Weizman Institute of Science in Rehovot Israel.

Career

Pharmacia

Dolsten worked from 1988-97 for the Swedish company Pharmacia in Lund. The last few years in this period he served as head of research for the Lund research center working into immune and cancer therapeutics. This company would be bought by Pfizer in 1997.

AstraZeneca

From 1997-2003 he worked for the Swedish pharmaceutical company Astra that became AstraZeneca as head of research & development for the subsidiary Astra Draco and after the Astra-Zeneca merger as head of Cardiovascular/Metabolic & Gastrointestinal research areas in April 1999, at Mölndal.

Pfizer

He was appointed President of R&D at the American Pharma Wyeth 2008. Dolsten joined Pfizer in 2009 during the acquisition of Wyeth as Head of BioTherapeutics. He became Pfizer's Chief Scientific Officer and President of R&D on 26 May 2010, replacing Martin Mackay, who moved to the UK as head of research for AstraZeneca. In his ongoing more than 10 years of tenure as Chief Scientific Officer at Pfizer a number of significant medicines and vaccines have been approved and used in medical practice, including Prevnar 13, Inlyta, Xeljanz, Eliquis, Xalcori, Bosulif, Daurismo, Lorbrena, Besponsa, Ibrance, Trumenba, Xtandi (acquired from Medivation), Vyndaqel, Eucrisa (acquired from Anacor), Braftovi (acquired from ARRAY), Bavencio, Inflectra (acquired from Hospira), Trazimera, Ruxience, and Zirabev. Dolsten has been part of leading the Pfizer Covid vaccine effort in 2020

On 14 May 2014 he appeared, with two other Pfizer executives, in front of the Science and Technology Select Committee to answer questions. The day before, three Pfizer executives had been interviewed in front of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee.

Dolsten served as scientific advisor to the Obama administration’s task force for improving regulatory and drug development as well as the VP Biden led Cancer moonshot and the NCI Blue Ribbon Panel. He has been founding co-chair with NIH Director Francis Collins for the public private consortium AMP, Accelerating Medicine Partnership.

He is on an advisory board of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Board member of Research America and Board member of the public company Karyopharm Therapeutics in Boston.

Dolsten has been elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Science.

Personal life

He is married to Catarina R Dolsten. They have a daughter (Josefin) and two sons (Simon and Gabriel). Mikael Dolsten moved to the USA in 2004 with his family. He is a dual Swedish–American citizen.