Vaccines leader, developer and champion Michael ‘Mike’ William Watson, who was born on September 10, 1964, passed away on August 27, 2022 aged 57.

A boarder in Tudor from 1978 to 1982, and latterly a member of the Levée. After Rugby Mike studied at Birmingham University School of Medicine, graduating in 1988.

He worked as a junior doctor, specializing in internal medicine, until 1993 and then moved to a new and enduring career in pharmaceutical medicine, joining Bristol Myers Squib in London. He gained experience with Takeda and Aventis Pasteur MSD (where folklore says he was the UK’s youngest-ever pharmaceutical company medical director at the age of 33).

Professionally, the time between 1998 and 2001 was dominated by two things which laid the foundations for his future achievements. First, the fallacious link between MMR and autism, which Mike relished the opportunity to refute, and second working with government and public health officials to tailor, licence and bring to market one of the vaccines babies are given early in life.

In 2001, Mike moved with his family to Lyon, France, to work for Sanofi Pasteur MSD, building and leading the clinical development team. The highlight there was his part in licensing the HPV vaccine Gardasil, which protects against cervical cancer, and which has changed the landscape of cervical cancer prevention forever.

Mike then moved to the US for a senior role leading R&D at a company called Acambis, which licensed a smallpox vaccine for emergency use, and which is now of interest for the prevention of monkeypox. The company was bought by Sanofi Pasteur and Mike returned to Lyon to head up Global Vaccination Policy and Advocacy, before heading up Global Policy for the whole of Sanofi. These roles played to his strengths in building connections and partnerships with multiple non-governmental organisations.

In 2016, he was appointed as President of Vaccines at Moderna, building the vaccines’ team and getting the company to recognise their importance. Mike’s contribution laid the foundation for Moderna’s later success with its COVID vaccine. However, he left the company before the pandemic to return full time to life in France.

During the last few years Mike sat on the boards of various vaccine companies. He set up, and was CEO of, a company called Mevox to develop a new vaccine platform and was Executive Chair of VaxEquity, developing next generation RNA vaccines.

Away from work, Mike was a loving, present, and fun husband, father and friend. The focus was often on sport and physical activity. He ran competitively and was a keen cyclist and skier. Moments of calm were found fly-fishing, often with friends, in France, America or on The Frome in Dorset.

Mike was described by a close friend and colleague as a complete human being: intelligent, confident, charismatic, charming, good looking, fit, humorous, self-effacing and with time for everyone. A lover of a pink shirt, wine and French cheese.

He left this world way too soon after a sudden heart attack but, it is not an understatement to say that, through his work, he has left the world a better place. Mike is survived by his wife, Helen, and their two children, Evie and Oliver.

Adapted from a contribution by Helen Watson.