Mikael leads the Worldwide Research, Development and Medical (WRDM) organization at Pfizer, which is responsible for the development of all compounds through proof of concept, and provides pharmaceutical sciences, safety and medical support to the entire R&D pipeline and all marketed medicines and vaccines. WRDM comprises all Pfizer research units, including Oncology, Internal Medicine, Inflammation & Immunology, Vaccines and Rare Disease, as well as the Centers for Therapeutic Innovation. The Vaccines R&D team leads scientific efforts from discovery through registration of novel vaccines. Mikael also has worldwide responsibility for Pfizer’s medical, safety and external R&D innovation, as well as science-based teams in pharmaceutical sciences, drug safety R&D, and large and small molecule discovery and development.

Mikael earned his PhD in tumor immunology and MD from the University of Lund in Sweden, where he was Adjunct Professor in Tumor Immunology and is a Visiting Professor to advise on science and technology strategies. He is a member of the boards of Agilent Technologies, Research!America, and Vimian. Additionally, Mikael is a member of the Board of Overseers for the Scripps Research Institute and a Foreign Member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. Since 2014, Mikael had co-chaired the Accelerating Medicine Partnership with National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director, Francis S. Collins, and now with Acting Director, Lawrence Tabak. He serves on the PhRMA Research & Development Leadership Forum and, until late 2022, served on the PhRMA Foundation Board of Directors. Mikael advised the Obama Administration on R&D as well as then Vice President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative to accelerate cancer research.

Mikael is a named inventor on several patents and has published approximately 150 articles in international journals.