Pfizer Appoints Worldwide R&D Leaders

Pfizer has made two strategic appointments in its Worldwide R&D organization effective immediately. Michael D. Ehlers, M.D., Ph.D., has been named group senior vice president and head of BioTherapeutics R&D and site head for Pfizer’s Cambridge and Boston, MA locations. Dr. Ehlers will report directly to Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., president of Worldwide R&D.
 
Also, John Lin, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed senior vice president and chief scientific officer of Rinat. Dr. Lin will report directly to Robert T. Abraham, Ph.D., group senior vice president for Oncology-Rinat R&D.
 
Dr. Ehlers will continue to serve as chief scientific officer of Pfizer’s Neuroscience and Pain Research Unit and will oversee the entire BioTherapeutics R&D organization. Dr. Ehlers will be based in Cambridge. Prior to joining the company, Dr. Ehlers spent 12 years as the George Barth Geller Professor of Neurobiology and as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator at Duke University.
 
“It’s a privilege to see extraordinary scientific talent rise to the opportunity to grow within our organization and lead the future of Pfizer’s key R&D areas,” said Dr. Dolsten. “Mike is a world-class talent who has made significant contributions in advancing our neuroscience research efforts and is now poised to lead BioTherapeutics Research & Development into the next era of potential breakthroughs for patients, not only in neuroscience and pain, but in rare diseases, and also at Pfizer’s Centers for Therapeutic Innovation.”
 
Rinat is Pfizer’s biotechnology unit within the Worldwide R&D organization, located in South San Francisco, CA. Dr. Lin joined Rinat in 2002 and continued in his role when acquired by Pfizer in 2006. Since 2011, he has served as vice president of Experimental Medicine with responsibility for overseeing immuno-oncology and discovery and validation biology efforts with particular expertise in cellular, molecular and in vivo neurobiology.
 
“John’s expertise in advancing differentiated antibody programs in both oncology and non-oncology indications is at the core of Rinat’s proven track-record of bringing potential therapies such as tanezumab, ponezumab and bococizumab into the clinic,” said Dr. Abraham. “I am fully confident that he will continue to leverage Rinat’s unique entrepreneurial culture to help us build a strong portfolio of cancer immunotherapeutics, and to help optimize their development in combinations with targeted therapies. These contributions from Rinat will be critical to our overarching goal of delivering potential durable or even curative therapies to cancer patients.”