I am a Principal Scientist and a Medicinal Chemist within the early Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism team. My focus is on synthetic chemistry where I, together with my team develop tools to make routes for our difficult-to-make compounds.

My area of expertise is C-H functionalisation, which is revolutionising how we design molecules within medicinal chemistry. By functionalising C-H bonds, we can save up to 20 steps in making molecules, which not only saves time but also has a positive sustainability impact, for example through using less reagent. 

In 2020, I was honoured to be awarded Associate Professor at the Institution for Organic Chemistry, Stockholm University. I have a longstanding research collaboration with the university around C-H functionalisation in drug discovery and I look forward to this continuing in my new role.

I am passionate about working with and helping to develop early talent. I am inspired and proud by the commitment of the Postdocs and PhD students I supervise – past and present, and the impact their research has made in advancing medicinal chemistry.

I also have a global responsibility for AstraZeneca´s academic collaborations and strategic decisions in the field of organic chemistry.

 

In my daily work I get to engage with highly talented and motivated Postdocs and PhD students. Together, we have moved synthetic medicinal chemistry forward, all with the aim of getting new medicines to patients with unmet needs.

Magnus Johansson Principal Scientist, Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, BioPharmaceuticals R&D

CURRENT ROLE

Principal Scientist, Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, BioPharmaceuticals R&D

2020

Awarded Associate Professor in Organic Chemistry at the Institution for Organic Chemistry, Stockholm University, Sweden

2020

Received an ITN-Marie Curie grant for CHAIR [C-H bond activation in industrial renewal]

2019

Made it onto the cover of Angewandte Chemie with the following publication: General Cyclopropane Assembly by Enantioselective Transfer of a Redox‐Active Carbene to Aliphatic Olefins

 Featured publications

Redox-Neutral Photocatalytic C−H Carboxylation of Arenes and Styrenes with CO2.

König et al 2020. Chem Cell Press 2020. Publication link: https://www.cell.com/chem/fulltext/S2451-9294(20)30432-0

Cobalt-catalysed C-H methylation for late stage drug diversification.

Friis S, Johansson MJ, Ackermann L. Nature Chemistry, 2020

Selective C2 Functionalization of Histidine in Peptides.

Noisier AF, Johansson MJ, Gopalakrishnan R et alAngewandte Chemie Int Ed, 2019

General Cyclopropane Assembly by Enantioselective Transfer of a Redox‐Active Carbene to Aliphatic Olefins.

Muratore M, Mendoza A, Johansson M J et al, Angewandte Chemie Int Ed 2019, (front cover)

Relative Strength of Common Directing Groups in Palladium-Catalyzed Aromatic C-H Activation.

Tomberg A, Muratore M, Johansson MJ et aliScience (Cell), 2019

Direct Synthesis of N‑Alkyl Arylglycines by Organocatalytic Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of N‑Alkyl Aryl Imino Esters.

Mazuela J, Antonsson T, Knerr L et al. Organic Letters 2018