Biogen has appointed Michael Ehlers, M.D., Ph.D., as executive vice president, R&D.

Dr. Ehlers will oversee Biogen’s global Research, Drug Discovery, Clinical Development, and Medical Affairs functions, defining the strategic direction for the company’s R&D organization and leading its efforts to develop therapies for patients with few or no treatment options. Dr. Ehlers will report to George Scangos, Ph.D., chief executive officer, and will be a member of the Biogen management team. He will begin his tenure at Biogen in late May.

“I am thrilled to have Mike join us,” said Dr. Scangos. “We conducted a thorough, global search, and I am convinced that we have found the right leader to build on our already outstanding R&D team. Mike is a brilliant neuroscientist, having made major contributions to our understanding of the biology of neurons; he is an established R&D leader who has excelled in both academic and corporate settings; and he has demonstrated the ability to translate science into important new medicines.”

Dr. Ehlers joins Biogen from Pfizer, where he served as group senior vice president for BioTherapeutics R&D and chief scientific officer for the company’s Neuroscience and Pain Research Unit. Dr. Ehlers led Pfizer’s Cambridge and Boston research sites and was responsible for a network of collaborations with major academic and government institutions.

Prior to joining Pfizer in 2010, Dr. Ehlers was the George Barth Geller Professor of Neurobiology and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University Medical Center, where he pioneered studies on neuronal organelles and the trafficking of neurotransmitter receptors.