November 11, 2020 
Scientists Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci have dedicated their lives to the field of oncology and infectious diseases, and spent years pioneering personalized immunotherapy treatments for cancer.
But amid the coronavirus pandemic, the couple’s groundbreaking research in the field of modified genetic code has catapulted them into the public eye, as the brains behind the world’s first effective coronavirus vaccine.
Sahin, 55, and Tureci, 53, set up BioNTech in the central German city of Mainz in 2008. On Monday the company’s partner, US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, said their candidate vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing infection in volunteers.
It uses the never-before-approved technology called messenger RNA, or mRNA, to spark an immune response in people who are vaccinated.
On a call with reporters on Tuesday, Sahin explained the significance of the news — and sent a message of hope for the world.
“I think the good message for mankind is that we now understand that COVID-19 infections can be indeed prevented by a vaccine,” he said.
Speaking to CNN on Monday, Pfizer CEO’s Albert Bourla called it “the greatest medical advance” in the last 100 years.
While the vaccine is a huge step for the scientific community, Sahin and Tureci are veterans in the world of medical achievements.
The pair, both trained physicians, established their previous company, Ganymed Pharmaceuticals, in 2001 to work on developing cancer-fighting antibodies, eventually selling it for $1.4 billion in 2016.
Sahin and Tureci bonded over a shared passion for cancer research, according to Reuters, who reported that the couple even began their wedding day in the research lab.
– CNN
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