Maxion Appoints Biopharma Leader to Board

Maxion Therapeutics, a biotechnology company dedicated to developing antibody-based KnotBody® drugs for ion channel- and G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-driven diseases, has announced the appointment of Mikael Dolsten, MD, PhD, as an independent Non-Executive Director to its Board. Dolsten, with more than three decades of global drug development and senior biopharmaceutical executive leadership experience, will support Maxion in advancing its KnotBody platform and expanding its pipeline of drug candidates targeting high-impact ion channel- and GPCR-driven diseases.

Former Pfizer Chief Scientific Officer and President of Worldwide Research, Development and Medical, Dolsten brings a wealth of experience in translating scientific innovation into life-changing medicines for patients.

Dolsten’s most recent executive role was as Chief Scientific Officer and President of Pfizer Research and Development, where he oversaw the regulatory approval of approximately 40 medicines and vaccines and the advancement of more than 150 drug candidates into clinical studies. During his 16-year tenure at Pfizer, he championed breakthrough innovations across small molecule medicines, biotherapeutics, gene therapies, and vaccines, including the regulatory approvals of COMIRNATY® and PAXLOVID®. Before Pfizer, his leadership experience included serving as President of Wyeth R&D, Executive Vice President and Head of Worldwide Research at Boehringer Ingelheim, and Global VP at AstraZeneca managing cardiovascular, metabolic, and GI R&D. His affiliations include the Scripps Research Institute, the Foundation for the NIH, and membership in The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. Dolsten holds both a PhD in Tumor Immunology and an MD from the University of Lund, Sweden, where he serves as an Adjunct Professor. He has been selected to receive Lund University’s Gold Medal, to be presented in January 2027.

Maxion’s KnotBody® platform offers an exciting opportunity to develop selective, long-acting biologics against ion channels and GPCRs that have been difficult to address with conventional antibodies.

Maxion Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing antibody-based KnotBody® drugs for ion channel- and G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-driven diseases. The company’s KnotBody® platform harnesses knottins, one of nature’s most potent modulators of ion channels and GPCRs, to create selective, long-acting biologics. Initially focused on immunological diseases, heart disorders, and acute and chronic pain, Maxion’s pipeline of proprietary KnotBody® molecules will access targets that have long remained beyond the reach of biologics.