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Ugur Şahin (left) and Özlem Turesi: The founders of Biontech, who have been married since 2002, are the pioneers of the Covid vaccine.
The couple behind Biontech, who helped hack one of the first Covid vaccines, see themselves soon on target. Ugur Sahin (57 years old) and Ozlim Torici (55 years old) primarily founded Biontech to work on new mRNA technology to fight cancer. They are now confident that their first anti-cancer vaccine should be widely available before 2030.
When the coronavirus pandemic began, the couple put off cancer research and shifted their focus to the Covid vaccine. To do this, Biontech has teamed up with the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Professors are now convinced that lessons from the epidemic have accelerated mRNA cancer research.
in BBC talk show “What we have developed over the decades to develop cancer vaccines has been the tailwind of developing a Covid 19 vaccine,” Torrici said on Sunday. Now the developed Covid vaccine is giving something to work on in the field of cancer. You have learned how to produce vaccines better and faster and how the immune system reacts to mRNA “in a large number of people”.
A series of achievements
Health authorities’ experiences through Covid with mRNA vaccines and how to deal with them “will certainly accelerate the development of our cancer vaccine,” says Tureci. When asked when cancer vaccines will be widely available, Shaheen said it would be “before 2030”.
Torrisi: “We have a feeling that a cure for cancer or a change in the lives of cancer patients is within reach.” As a scientist, she tries to remain humble and doesn’t promise much: “We always hesitate to say we’ll have a cure for cancer.” In the lab, they made “a number of breakthroughs.”
The mRNA cancer vaccine may be similar to the Covid vaccine. The Biontech/Pfizer vaccine against Covid mRNA is used to give the body a blueprint for the coronavirus protein. This instructs the cells to make copies of the protein. On the other hand, the mRNA cancer vaccine is designed to trick a person’s body into making antigen molecules present in the tumor, allowing the vaccine to recognize and eliminate cells remaining after surgery.
A new American study: Can this vaccination reduce the risk of stroke?(01:12)
Several treatments are in the experimental stage
Biontech isn’t the only pharmaceutical company looking for a cancer vaccine. Many pharmaceutical companies have funds in the trial phase. In August, Moderna, which makes its own Covid vaccines, said it would sue Biontech and Pfizer for patent infringement related to a Covid-19 vaccine.
Moderna basically states that Biontech has transcribed key elements of its mRNA technology. Shaheen explained, “We have invested 20 years of research in developing these types of treatments. Of course we will fight for our intellectual property.” You have researched everything yourself and independently.
The two doctors hope that the mRNA cancer vaccine will lead to new treatments for melanoma, colorectal cancer and other types of tumors. (bag)
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