Roopal Thakkar, M.D.

Dr. Roopal Thakkar serves as Executive Vice President, Research & Development, Chief Scientific Officer at AbbVie. In this role, he leads the company’s R&D organization of more than 14,000 team members around the world and is focused on driving pipeline advancement across therapeutics and aesthetics. Dr. Thakkar is also responsible for the six major R&D centers of excellence located across the United States, Germany and Japan.

He joined Abbott/AbbVie in 2003 as part of the Physician Development Program. Since then, he has held several positions in clinical development, including Group Project Director, Immunology, as well as Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs where he was responsible for driving industry-leading regulatory submissions to health authorities around the world.

In 2019, Dr. Thakkar​ assumed the role of Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs and R&D Quality Assurance and in 2022 he was appointed to the role of Senior Vice President, Development and Regulatory Affairs and Chief Medical Officer.

In 2023, Dr. Thakkar was appointed Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, Global Therapeutics. In this role, he led the organization through many strategic acquisitions and propelled and delivered clinical development programs across immunology, oncology, neuroscience, eye care, and specialty.

Prior to joining AbbVie, he completed training in internal medicine and was a clinical fellow at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Dr. Thakkar received his bachelor’s degree in cellular and molecular biology from the University of Michigan and his M.D. from the Wayne State​ University School of Medicine.