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Mikael Dolsten, head of research at Pfizer, appointed visiting professor at Lund University

Mikael Dolsten
Mikael Dolsten (Photo: Pfizer)

Mikael Dolsten was an advisor to President Obama, worked with Joe Biden on Cancer Moonshot, was involved in the R&D for some 30 drugs – and he is now leading the development of Pfizer’s and BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine as head of research at Pfizer. It is an impressive career to say the least, and it started in Lund, Sweden. The circle will be closed on 1 January 2021, when he takes up his visiting professorship in Pharmacology at Lund University.

Our meeting online (of course) is to talk more about what creates strong research environments, moments from the journey towards developing a vaccine against the pandemic – and what Mikael Dolsten wants to bring to the visiting professorship. Curiosity and the determination to learn new things have been a part of him since he was young. He trained as a physician at Lund University and got involved in research early, at the end of the second semester of the medical programme.

“I was fascinated by the immune system and how it acts as an organised network in our body to differentiate between what is endogenous and foreign threats such as microorganisms, viruses and bacteria. How this complex system can sometimes fail and lead to autoimmunity, inflammation – but also how it plays a certain role in monitoring, so that our cells do not change and become carcinogenic”, states Mikael Dolsten.


He spent a total of 20 years in Lund and on several occasions has spoken warmly about that period of his life.

“Several key events, both in my professional and private life, happened in Lund. I met my wife Catarina and we celebrated our wedding at Locus Medicus. When we visit Lund, we usually pass by there and open the gate... My three children were born at Lund University Hospital. So, a lot has happened to me personally and professionally which means Lund has a big place in my heart.”

Learned to look for the major issues

After earning his PhD, Mikael Dolsten became associate professor and adjunct professor of Immunology.

“The opportunity to be a researching physician was an important foundation for me. My supervisor, Hans-Olof Sjögren, was also a medically trained researcher and interested in converting basic research into something medically significant. He in his turn was trained by the prominent cancer researcher, Georg Klein, so I have had several key mentors who thought broadly about how to influence breakthroughs in medicine. I learned at an early stage to look for the major issues.”

There are several pharmaceutical companies in Skåne and Mikael Dolsten first worked at Pharmacia and then Astra Draco. Both were successful, research-driven entrepreneurial companies that provided a good schooling.

During his time as a young researcher, he was granted a scholarship by the University to travel abroad and gain experience of international research.

“That is something I am grateful for today! As a researcher you are part of a global knowledge community and need to get impressions of how others work, learn new techniques and gain new approaches. Travel scholarships are a tremendous investment in young researchers.”

In January you will become a visiting professor at Lund University. What will you focus on during that period?

“Erik Renström, dean of the Faculty of Medicine, got in touch and inspired me to return to Lund. I already have quite a heavy working week, but during my 20 years in Lund I had many mentors and leaders who inspired me and who gave me a springboard into the world. It is an important calling to give something back.”

Driving innovation

Mikael Dolsten wants to contribute, not only within research itself, but also to share his experience of what drives good innovation, how basic knowledge can affect people’s lives and how to create entrepreneurial structures that can be significant for millions of people.

He has led several major collaborations between academia and industry with the US research funding body NIH in areas such as Alzheimer’s, immunology, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease – collaborations that involved hundreds of millions of dollars.

“I have seen how it is possible to on a large scale create what I learned on a small scale in Lund. How do you get organised and what are the ingredients involved, what strategies and prioritisations are needed? One way of thinking is that, like a magnifying glass, you can magnify what you do so that it has an even greater effect. Every alumnus who has had an opportunity to pursue an international career and who returns to the University, even in a limited capacity, can help people learn about new approaches,” says Mikael Dolsten. He also believes in identifying research that can be areas of strength.


“Universities and companies often need to know a bit about everything and sometimes need to rapidly readjust. But it is also important to ask yourself if you are able to do something unique, and in such a way become a global force. This is something that is seldom done in isolation.”

A frightening but important year

And now, Covid-19. Mikael Dolsten has been one of those on whom the whole world has pinned its hopes on for a new vaccine.

How has the past year been for you?

“Unusual. One of the most frightening but also important years of my career. I lived in Manhattan in parts of March–April when the pandemic exploded in the USA and could hear how the ambulances took people to hospital around the clock. At the same time, leading a research team that took on the disease both in the form of new treatments, but above all, a vaccine, can be described as a mixture of fear and excitement. A bit like finding yourself in a Henning Mankell detective novel, except here the perpetrator is an invisible virus. The pandemic came as a total surprise, but Albert Bourla, the Pfizer CEO, urged everyone to be brave, dare to take risks and to mobilise.”

“I was to represent Pfizer at the White House in a discussion with the president and other leaders of research companies about the pandemic. The day before, we had been in contact with the German company BioNtech, which worked on influenza vaccines, and were told that they were interested in collaborating with us. Usually, you would perhaps be tempted to think ‘we will wait a little longer, until we understand the scope of the problem’, but here there was a concept involving influenza vaccines that we could utilise. It felt historic to be able to say that at the White House.”

Historic moment

The meeting at the White House took place in March and clinical studies in Germany began as early as late April. Mikael Dolsten will not forget the moment when the results of the phase III study came back.

“It was a Sunday. We had not seen each other for a long time, but now we were sitting in the same room and had masks on and met the independent steering committee via Zoom. All the preliminary biomarker data had looked good, but I have been in the pharmaceutical industry long enough to know that anything can happen.”

The screen was connected. The committee had poker faces. They went through the background information and then came to the result: “You have a vaccine effect of more than 90 per cent.”

“I jumped up out of my chair and cried out with joy: this is absolutely fantastic!”

An historic moment that can affect the entire world. Mikael Dolsten has been involved in developing 30 different drugs during his career and “is proud of every one”, but nothing had felt like this.

“There has not been a pandemic of this type since 1918 and to hear about the positive results was tremendous. We were just as glad for humankind as we were that all the pieces had fallen into place in the research puzzle we were trying to solve. We knew of course that if our study did not look good, it would also reduce the likelihood that other studies would succeed.”

While there was extreme joy about the results, it was known that there would be a second wave in conjunction with the arrival of winter. There is also the risk that the structure of the virus changes, resulting in a need for an upgraded vaccine.

“This is how the mRNA vaccines are unique. It is possible to change the sequence in a short time if we discover that the virus has altered to such an extent that the vaccine is no longer optimal. In contrast to a virus-based vaccine, which presents difficulties in repeated  vaccinations, our mRNA can be given multiple times – a so-called boost – in order to strengthen immunity and potentially provide long-term protection against Covid-19 (the SARS-Cov2 virus). The mRNA vaccine, which is wholly synthetic, contains no foreign proteins or living particles. If immunity decreases, it can be detected and, in that case, a new injection can be administered. The technique is also very fast.”

The pandemic is driving new approaches to research

Society as a whole has been affected by the pandemic and that includes research.

“Covid has only been around for eleven months, and there has already been great progress on the vaccines. It shows how powerful research can be when you collaborate. We have shared our information and have an extensive collaboration with NIH and the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as ten other companies where we have applied best practice in order to increase the accumulation of knowledge.”

“Normally you carry out a study, submit it and two months later you are contacted. Here we report continuously to the FDA and they get in touch within a few days. There is a lot to be learned from this. When we face major challenges, we must find new ways to work, dare to be transparent and share information. It proceeds a lot faster, and it can save lives.”

Will we defeat the virus?

“I am convinced that we will win, but we cannot take anything for granted. The difficulty now is the logistics: we need to vaccinate a world with a population of close to eight billion people. There is a need for several different vaccines. We also know that many people have a fear of vaccines. There are many people who do not become ill themselves, but who may be super-spreaders of the infection. It is therefore important to understand that you do not get vaccinated just for your own sake, but also for other people.”

One challenge at the moment, according to Mikael Dolsten, is the major political divisions that spill over and could affect vaccination.

“A pandemic requires that we stand together.”

Communication is an important factor. Mikael Dolsten is not convinced that sporadic voices from individual ‘rock star researchers’ who dominate the media are the best way.

“There is a need for well-composed panels with several experts whose areas of knowledge overlap and then a representative who acts as a spokesperson for all their areas of knowledge. At the moment, there are many self-appointed spokespeople and star researchers featuring in the media and it easily becomes fragmented. I would like to see more of an organised voice for researchers with a message that everyone supports. I think we have failed in this respect as a research community. We didn’t reckon that there would be such a considerable need for this voice so quickly in a situation where there is also extensive spreading of baseless claims. Here, it is extremely important that universities and regional healthcare authorities step up and take responsibility.”

Do you have any advice for young students and researchers who are at the start of their career?

“Choose something you are passionate about. Then it is important to ask yourself if there is a greater purpose that you can be a part of. For me, it has been about searching for areas that are ready for a medical breakthrough, that can help patients, and being curious about seeking out new knowledge or new techniques to make it possible. It is just as important to pose questions as to look for answers.”

“Questions inspire me to look at things in depth. This takes time, so you must have fun along the way. Surround yourself with people you like to collaborate with, ensure that you have a life rich with what makes you complete as a person, both privately and professionally. And find partial goals on the way that make you feel like something has happened. Set a course, have a purpose, be curious and brave, and remember to enjoy the journey. Welcome the experience of others.”

Interview and text: Tove Smeds