The Husband-and-Wife Team Behind the Leading Vaccine to Solve Covid-19

The German company BioNTech, founded by two scientists, has teamed up with Pfizer on a vaccine that was found to be more than 90 percent effective.

Two years ago, Dr. Ugur Sahin took the stage at a conference in Berlin and made a bold prediction. Speaking to a roomful of infectious disease experts, he said his company might be able to use its so-called messenger RNA technology to rapidly develop a vaccine in the event of a global pandemic.

At the time, Dr. Sahin and his company, BioNTech, were little known outside the small world of European biotechnology start-ups. BioNTech, which Dr. Sahin founded with his wife, Dr. Özlem Türeci, was mostly focused on cancer treatments. It had never brought a product to market. Covid-19 did not yet exist.

But his words proved prophetic.

On Monday, BioNTech and Pfizer announced that a vaccine for the coronavirus developed by Dr. Sahin and his team was more than 90 percent effective in preventing the disease among trial volunteers who had no evidence of having previously been infected. The stunning results vaulted BioNTech and Pfizer to the front of the race to find a cure for a disease that has killed more than 1.2 million people worldwide.

The German company BioNTech, founded by two scientists, has teamed up with Pfizer on a vaccine that was found to be more than 90 percent effective.
— Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/business/biontech-covid-vaccine.html

Pasukan Suami-Isteri Di Sebalik Vaksin Teratas untuk Menyelesaikan Covid-19

Syarikat Jerman BioNTech, yang diasaskan oleh dua saintis, telah bekerjasama dengan Pfizer pada vaksin yang didapati berkesan lebih dari 90 persen.

Oleh David GellesNov. 10, 2020

Ugur Sahin, kiri, dan Dr. Özlem Türeci, pasangan yang mengasaskan BioNTech.

Ugur Sahin, kiri, dan Dr. Özlem Türeci, pasangan yang mengasaskan BioNTech.Felix Schmitt / Contact Press Images-Focus

Dua tahun yang lalu, Dr. Ugur Sahin mengambil pentas di sebuah persidangan di Berlin dan membuat ramalan yang berani. Berbicara dengan sebilangan besar pakar penyakit berjangkit, dia mengatakan syarikatnya mungkin dapat menggunakan teknologi RNA messenger yang disebutnya untuk mengembangkan vaksin dengan cepat sekiranya terjadi wabak global.

Pada masa itu, Dr. Sahin dan syarikatnya, BioNTech, kurang dikenali di luar dunia kecil bioteknologi Eropah. BioNTech, yang didirikan oleh Dr. Sahin bersama isterinya, Dr. Özlem Türeci, kebanyakannya fokus pada rawatan barah. Ia tidak pernah membawa produk ke pasaran. Covid-19 belum wujud.

Tetapi kata-katanya terbukti bernubuat.

Pada hari Isnin, BioNTech dan Pfizer mengumumkan bahawa vaksin untuk coronavirus yang dikembangkan oleh Dr. Sahin dan pasukannya lebih daripada 90 peratus berkesan untuk mencegah penyakit ini di kalangan sukarelawan percubaan yang tidak mempunyai bukti sebelumnya dijangkiti. Hasil yang mengagumkan itu melengkapkan BioNTech dan Pfizer ke puncak perlumbaan untuk mencari penawar penyakit yang telah membunuh lebih daripada 1.2 juta orang di seluruh dunia.