özlem türeci interview

We became aware that the platform was already at a stage where we needed to initiate clinical development to ensure the translation of this concept. She, a chief physician; he, the CEO of BioNTech – married for the last 18 years. On top of all that, she’s an Executive Board Member of the, We very convincingly showed that our antibody, IMAB362, contributes a highly significant increase in median overall survival. In May 2020, we acquired a competitor in Cambridge in the U.S. with just under a hundred employees and an excellent research team on site there. On the other hand, I understand that our success is inspirational for people, especially Turks. DER SPIEGEL: Thus far, the vaccine has to be kept at a temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius during storage and transportation. In a DER SPIEGEL interview, BioNTech founders Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin discuss the development of the world's first COVID-19 vaccine, what that success means to them and where they intend to go from here. Are you as optimistic? Şahin/Türeci have been interviewed by the British press three times. Am 18. As she continues at Ganymed by supporting the new owners in their takeover of late-stage antibody development, she is also active as a Scientific Advisor for BioNTech, a company developing mRNA-based individualized cancer vaccines led by her partner Ugur Sahin. In the U.S., it's enough to just present the hubcap and everyone congratulates you for your prospective innovative vehicle. This is something that has not been seen in this indication in the last two decades. Dr. Ugur Sahin and Dr. Özlem Türeci were in a lab on their wedding day, and now their firm BioNTech has co-produced a promising coronavirus vaccine. The virus had complete freedom and months of time to optimize. This is an area in which we will be particularly active with BioNTech. Özlem Türeci is a German immunologist, businessperson and the Chief Medical Officer of BioNTech. Did you always know you wanted to become a doctor? Through a mutation, the virus can make some of these locations unrecognizable, but it can't change itself so fundamentally that it becomes invisible to the immune system. We invested in two decades of research to make what was then an embryonic technology became usable as a drug platform. In a worst-case scenario, will we have to get vaccinated three times a year? Ihre Entwicklung wird Millionen Menschenleben retten: Hier erzählen In dem historischen Gebäude aus der Zeit des Deutschen Bundes wird so gut wie alles serviert: vom Winzersektbrunch bis zum eigens gebrauten Mainzer Aktien-Bier. And we know that we increase the body's immune response with the second dose. Özlem Türeci is a German immunologist, businessperson and the Chief Medical Officer of BioNTech. He met Türeci during his final year as a medical student. Usually, a somewhat battered mountain bike can be found in the bike rack at the entrance. Özlem Türeci and Ugur Sahin. She is a pioneer in cancer immunotherapy. I was an early believer in the idea that our immune system should be able to fight cancer. What is still missing are curative procedures for early-stage patients. Şahin: We have the opportunity and the ambition to do it on our own. You have to imagine that in advanced gastric cancer, the medical need is very, very high. Why didn't Brussels accept your offer? In the U.S., that would be seen as an ultimate sign of success. Immediately after it was discovered that the co-founders of BioNTech, oncologists Dr. Özlem Türeci and Prof. Uğur Şahin, were children of migrants from Turkey, the axis of the debate shifted to the lingering questions about migration, integration, diversity, and discrimination in Germany (and beyond). If 500,000 cans are destined for a developing country, then they have to actually get there. We had a vision: to mobilize the immune system in a multi-modal way. On March 18, 2021, they will be honored with the Axel Springer Award for their entrepreneurial spirit, innovativeness and sense of social responsibility. Dr Özlem Türeci and Dr Uğur Şahin, who both have parents who came to Germany from Turkey in the late 1960s. Türeci: We can determine that indirectly via antibody tests. DER SPIEGEL: In that sense, Mainz is a good place to be located. Özlem Türeci is a physician and immunologist. As physicians, scientists and entrepreneurs, what they have achieved is groundbreaking. She is the chief medical officer of BioNTech and lecturer at the University of Mainz. Türeci verbrachte ihre Kindheit in Lastrup. That means that an even greater effect could be achieved with a third injection, perhaps one year later. Türeci: In contrast to the U.S., this type of training, this sort of scene, doesn’t exist here. Biotechnology is no longer a vague promise. It's possible to escape that even in the digital age. It became apparent from the very beginning of the vaccination campaign that this can create problems. It remains a huge undertaking. BioNTech, which Dr. Sahin founded with his wife, Dr. Özlem Türeci, was mostly focused on cancer treatments. DER SPIEGEL: At the same time, Brussels made large purchases from other producers who are behind on development. That’s a deterrent. Şahin, 55, was awarded the German Cancer Prize in 2019. Her father, who immigrated to Germany from Istanbul, worked there as a surgeon in the small Catholic St.-Elisabeth-Stift hospital and also ran his own practice. DER SPIEGEL: In addition to your practical training as a doctor in the hospital, you also studied mathematics. It had never brought a product to market. Türeci, 53, is head of the research cluster of the German Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. They quickly noticed that Germany’s world-class science is too rarely represented in the medical field. Today, immune therapies are actually a commodity. But we also want to develop beyond these core areas. Özlem Türeci & Ugur Sahin, and a friendship with a Greek Pharma CEO. One very strong trend is cell therapies like CAR-T. Another is cancer vaccines based on tumor antigens. Will it be possible to adjust the serum in the near future such that it can be stored at normal refrigerator temperatures? Die Welt schaut derzeit voller Hoffnung auf eine Straße in Mainz. Şahin: ... and can quickly provide a hundred million dollars in startup funding, which is ultimately nothing more than a kind of subsidy. DER SPIEGEL: BioNTech’s origins are actually in cancer research. Photograph: Biontech What we are working on now is a strategy that defines where we enter into partnerships and what we can handle on our own, also through acquisitions. Many pharma companies have programs where they try to connect to academic institutions and biotechs. One focused on a special type of antibody that, in contrast to the normal paradigm of blocking a function, instead meant to activate immune effectors and attract them to the tumor. The founders of BioNTech, the husband-wife team of Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci, are behind the company’s successful launch of the first Covid-19 vaccine to be authorized in the West. I absolutely think that ecosystems in which companies work together with academia are the key to ensuring that innovation is translated. Şahin/Türeci have been interviewed by the British press three times. And I if I’m wrong, I admit it, even though I am technically the boss. Here, too, new solutions are required for problems that have never been encountered before. We’re doing fine. The idea that a start-up can create something that large, established companies can't, is unfortunately too often lacking in our country. This could be a real revolution. DER SPIEGEL: Either way, for the time being it looks as though we have far less of the vaccine than we had hoped. DER SPIEGEL: It also hasn't yet been determined for how long immunity lasts, whether after an infection or after receiving the vaccine. What I expect is that, after the wave of checkpoint inhibitors, others will come. It has now been approved for use in 50 countries and we must and want to deliver. The data will show us what must be done. As we have just seen, drug development can take place very quickly. As physicians, scientists and entrepreneurs, what they have achieved is groundbreaking. Türeci: From a purely technological perspective, yes. In that respect, we have a certain responsibility to deal with it sensibly and to reveal a little more about ourselves to people than we normally would. That is why we are currently working with Pfizer on whether and how we can increase production. The method was successful against the Ebola virus. We are also in talks with companies that are specialized in the production of vaccine components in compliance with all pharmaceutical regulations. I trust him 100 percent.”. And not only this, we also were able to ensure a sustained effect. One reason for that is that Türeci and Şahin are pioneers in a new, untested medical technology, one which seeks to transform the human body into its own drug factory. He cares only about science.". Have you been able to find a minute to reflect on all of that? DER SPIEGEL: Are the authorities ultimately more of a limiting factor than the number of researchers you have working for BioNTech? "Uğur is a very, very unique individual," says Albert Bourla, chief executive of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. You cannot really serve the patient need if you, for example, go for compassionate use, or any other setting which can be afforded by an academic institution. Is it also a burden? Even as a kid, I couldn’t wrap the idea around my head that people with cancer looked healthy but were terminally ill. And that it was just allowed to happen. So we started to develop several cancer immunotherapy platforms. Den Ausschlag gaben für Türeci aber praktische Gründe: „Dort kriegt man immer einen Platz.“ Şahin: Unfortunately, I am unable to give you any details from the contracts. DER SPIEGEL: The U.S. appears to be much better supplied. A number of antibodies like, for example, Avastin and Erbitux, have been tested and failed in large clinical trials. On March 18, 2021, they will be honored with the Axel Springer Award for their entrepreneurial spirit, innovativeness and […] By the end of January, we will have clarity on whether and how much more we will be able to produce. Interview with Uğur Şahin ( Vaccine Creator ) When reports of a new coronavirus circulated in January, Biontech founders Uğur Özlem tÜrecİ Türeci, a research researcher for cancer research, is one of the founders and chief medical officer of the biotechnology firm called BioNTech. BioNTech is the second company the couple has founded, but they primarily see themselves as scientific researchers. And yet few other industries have been spurned to such a degree by German banks and financiers and so neglected by politicians. When we were founded, we set out to ensure that our innovations would benefit everyone around the world. Özlem Türeci. Biontech founders Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci. And given the importance of a vaccine for getting the economy up and running again, she and her husband, BioNTech CEO Uğur Şahin, could sweep up an Economics award, too. Biontech founders Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci. Here, in Mainz, we are part of such a cluster, which in our experience is the best way to accelerate innovations into clinical development. Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin dedicate their lives and work to helping people. Dr. Ugur Sahin and Dr. Özlem Türeci cofounded BioNTEch, which teamed with Pfizer on the coronavirus vaccine that is 90% effective in early data. The family lived across the street from the hospital, and Türeci often accompanied her father to work. If the press coverage is anything to go by, BioNTech’s chief medical officer, Özlem Türeci, is on track for at least two Nobel Prizes: Medicine, and Peace. Our work doesn’t stop at 5 p.m. – we immerse ourselves in it. Şahin: Not even once. It has shown an efficacy of around 70 percent. We could simply replace the genetic information for the current virus antigen with the new, mutated version. Türeci: That is exactly what happened. Özlem Türeci hat sich das Proviant-Magazin in der Mainzer Innenstadt ausgesucht. Özlem Türeci und Uğur Şahin widmen ihr Leben und ihre Arbeit dem Ziel, Menschen zu helfen. Şahin: Right, but that's not the point. DER SPIEGEL: In other words, whether people are infectious even if they have no symptoms. The article you are reading originally appeared in German in issue 01/2021 (December 31, 2020) of DER SPIEGEL. The approach is certainly a sensible one. There is no pharma company which does not have a checkpoint inhibitor program. It is more of a workroom than it is an executive suite with an antechamber. In einem Interview erzählte Türeci, dass sie als Kind eigentlich Nonne werden wollte. And by then, it was too late to place large orders elsewhere. “I understood that what we can offer cancer patients at the hospitals is not much, and we could do more by bringing new discoveries to the patient’s bedside,” she told me. The founders of BioNTech, the husband-wife team of Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci, are behind the company’s successful launch of the first Covid-19 vaccine to be authorized in the West. Both went to Mainz in the mid-1990s where, at the university, they met their now-retired mentor, the oncologist Christoph Huber. He was part of this dream and helped create the necessary conditions. We made it very clear at the beginning of the partnership that this would be our first product and that we were not simply looking for a licensing deal, but a true collaboration. The key was the eye-popping data we generated in our clinical trial. Who decides if you both have a completely different opinion on an important issue in the company? They are both oncologists specialized in immunotherapy. When we started, cancer immunotherapy was not an accepted pharmaceutical concept. 'Ugur is a very, very unique individual,' Mr. Bourla, Pfizer’s chief executive, said in the interview last month. Şahin: We are on the path to detecting and treating cancer earlier. Nor do I get anxiety attacks when the stock market value drops by several hundred million. On March 18, 2021, they will be honored with the Axel Springer Award for their entrepreneurial spirit, innovativeness and sense of social responsibility. Germany-based scientist Dr. Uğur Şahin, the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine developer along with Dr. Özlem Türeci, has been in a dialogue with the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) to launch a cancer research center in his home country Turkey. "Sometimes it seems like a Bermuda Triangle in which innovation disappears without a trace," Şahin says. There will surely be some product candidates in those areas in the next year or two. Türeci: We like Mainz very much, this down-to-earthness, not so much excitement. Political leaders will have to find a strategy. "He is a scientist and a man of principles. ... Türeci once said in an interview that her and her husband even found time to work in the lab on their wedding day. In a DER SPIEGEL interview, BioNTech founders Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin discuss the development of the world's first COVID-19 vaccine, what that success means to … Özlem Türeci and Professor Uğur Şahin. He doesn’t like it … There is a gap because there is a lack of additional, approved vaccines and we have to fill this gap with our vaccine. Türeci: In the coming months, caution and prudence will be necessary to reduce infection numbers and to prevent yet another surge. What we are able to investigate pretty well is the prevention of asymptomatic infections. We founded the company in 2001, at a time where the private equity markets were quite risk-averse, which meant that it was also not so easy to get venture capital, and to recruit people for the company, and so on. BioNTech is more of a high-tech firm than it is a classical pharmaceutical company. 2008 gründeten das Ehepaar Uğur Şahin und Özlem Türeci mit Christoph Huber in Mainz die Firma Biontech, um nach Medikamenten und Technologien für Krebstherapien zu forschen.Jetzt hat Biontech mit seinem US-Partner Pfizer einen Impfstoff entwickelt, der laut ersten Studien einen über 90-prozentigen Schutz vor Covid-19 bieten soll. But it's not as if there are unused, specialized factories sitting around the world that can start producing the vaccine tomorrow in the quality necessary. Ugur Sahin, der nicht nur Vorstandsvorsitzender von Biontech ist, sondern gemeinsam mit seiner Frau Prof. Özlem Türeci auch wissenschaftlicher Treiber des Unternehmens, stellte sich im Live-Interview all diesen Fragen. Your wealth has risen from € 650 million to € 2.4 billion in a year – it has almost quadrupled in such a short time. Not only methods, but also mindsets for the general population. Germany’s over-the-top pride was quickly followed by irritation. As such, the record speed with which their company developed the COVID-19 vaccine is a message: Look how fast we can move if we all join forces. Şahin: I do believe that we could have an inspirational effect. ", "That's just part of the deal when you are trying to bring something brand new from the laboratory to the patient. Türeci: The situation will remain unchanged for the next three months, but then we will likely be able to improve the specifications for transportation and storage. Along with her husband Ugur Sahin who is the CEO of the same biotech company, they developed the COVID-19 vaccine in the shortest possible time. Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin dedicate their lives and work to helping people. Photo by Screenshot Article content. It’s the beginning of a revolution. The BioNTech couple has been well known in the medical community for some time, particularly among cancer experts. Türeci: We have several products in the pipeline, and major efficacy studies for some of them are approaching. Şahin: Yes, there are other viruses in this class against which it has not been possible to develop a vaccine. In 1984, he graduated from the Erich-Kästner-Gymnasium in Cologne, the first child of Turkish immigrant workers to attend the college-prep high school. We have initiated such a network for the vaccine. And a glimmer of hope. For our COVID-19 vaccine, it only took three days. Aside from the vaccine, none of them has yet been approved. The French company Sanofi, for example, whose vaccine will only be ready at the end of 2021 at the earliest. Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas would later acquire the company for at least a half a billion euros. Türeci: There were, in fact, a number of companies that announced their intention to develop a vaccine. The couple doesn't own a car. Don't Miss Any Update With Our Weekly Newsletter! According to President-elect Joe Biden, up to 100 million Americans are to be vaccinated by April. "At some point, it became clear that many of those producers wouldn't be able to deliver in a timely manner. In a subgroup of patients with high expression of the target of the antibody, we even had a near doubling of median overall survival. And we expanded our production capacities concurrently with the clinical development of the vaccine so that we could produce more than a billion doses. Türeci: Then we would have to undertake a new clinical study with tens of thousands of test subjects. 'He cares only about science. DER SPIEGEL: Your study with 44,000 test subjects showed that the vaccine can prevent the development of COVID-19. In a situation where a quick decision is required, this can cost time,” Prof Sahin said in an extensive interview with Spiegel. DER SPIEGEL: Thanks to the sharp rise in BioNTech's market value, you now rank pretty high up in manager magazin's list of the richest people in Germany. Özlem Türeci. Türeci: From the very beginning, we started looking for solutions to increase production capacity and to develop a robust network of suppliers. The billionaires find lists of riches superfluous and do not get anxious if the stock market value of Biontech drops significantly. Think of it like this: The triggered immune response recognizes the so-called virus antigens at many different locations. The couple lives together with their daughter in an inconspicuous apartment located between company headquarters and the university. Nachdem sich die beiden an der Uni-Klinik kennen und lieben gelernt hatten, wechselten sie 2000 an die Universität Mainz. The […] Or whether such kinds of "discrimination" should be forbidden. Şahin: If someone presents a newly developed car in this country and the hubcap is missing, everyone just complains about the hubcap and no one talks about the invention. Immediately after it was discovered that the co-founders of BioNTech, oncologists Dr. Özlem Türeci and Prof. Uğur Şahin, were children of migrants from Turkey, the axis of the debate shifted to the lingering questions about migration, integration, diversity, and discrimination in Germany (and beyond). Türeci: Identity is nothing negative, it's only the politicization of identity that is harmful. When I started, cancer immunotherapy was not an accepted industrial or pharmaceutical concept. A former colleague describes them both as brilliant workhorses. But the authorities have significant experience with such adjustments, such as with the seasonal flu vaccine, for example, which is produced each year to neutralize new virus variations. I think that’s the most important thing I have learned in the last years. We started with 20 vaccine candidates, which we tested until only the best remained. Türeci: It's the same the other way around. But you shouldn't forget that simply preventing an outbreak of the illness has an effect on the further development of the pandemic, because people who develop symptoms through an outbreak of the illness are contagious for longer. It is important that the elderly and medical workers can be vaccinated in as many countries as possible. On top of all that, she’s an Executive Board Member of the European Cancer Research Association (CIMT). In doing so, we try to combine the best of basic research and industrial development. What motivated you to do so? We realized early on that each cancer is unique and should ideally be treated individually. Şahin: That's something I'd rather not comment on. I strongly believe in individualized therapies. DER SPIEGEL: Is it also possible that we'll end up with a vaccine shortage if a lack of raw materials develops or if a batch is flawed? DER SPIEGEL: Is the European regulatory agency EMA too slow for you? “Özlem Türeçi and Uğur Şahin, who found the vaccine in Germany, held a video conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Doch nicht nur Biontech sorgt derzeit für Schlagzeilen. Last year, BioNTech sold shares to the public; in recent months, its market value has soared past $21 billion, making the couple among the richest in Germany. And given the importance of a vaccine for getting the economy up and running again, she and her husband, BioNTech CEO Uğur Şahin, could sweep up an Economics award, too. ", BioNTech Founders Türeci and Şahin on the Battle against COVID-19, "To See People Finally Benefitting from Our Work Is Really Moving", Researchers Explore Promising New Therapies for COVID-19, The Unprecedented Challenge of Coronavirus Vaccine Distribution. DER SPIEGEL: Are you hopeful that the success you are having can help change that? We have already established partnerships with five European producers to support production. That would stem the pandemic much more rapidly. Özlem Türeci also has Turkish roots: Her father, a doctor, had come to Germany from Istanbul to work in a hospital here. DER SPIEGEL: We could have found ourselves in a situation in which no vaccine could help? In part because the European Union isn't directly authorized, and member states also have a say. As she continues at Ganymed by supporting the new owners in their takeover of late-stage antibody development, she is also active as a Scientific Advisor for, Türeci has also played a key role in the establishment of the Mainz biotech ecosystem through the, of new research facilities to support public-private partnerships in 2014 and as Chairman of the, (Cluster for Individualized Immune Intervention).
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