Since Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radiation, Oz Zalem Turesi and Ugur Sahin have been rapidly becoming famous marriages in science.
The German-Turkish couple are on the verge of claiming the first effective coronavirus vaccine, but, like their predecessors, they ride bikes anywhere, they are not interested in the billions of dollars made from their invention and are happy to work together with their whites. Lab coats, even on their wedding day. Like Marie Curie, they are also immigrants, both of their parents came to Germany from Turkey as part of the guest worker program, and despite announcing their covid vaccine on Monday with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, they could share the Nobel Prize after their company, Bioentech. More than 90 percent effective.
Dr. Syrian. Sahin, born in Iskenderun, near the Syrian border, is the son of a car factory worker. Dr. Turki is the daughter of a surgeon from Istanbul. They met at Saarland University in Hamburg and have been collaborating ever since, although their passion until this year was cancer medicine, and how to manipulate the immune system to eradicate tumors.
They take these interviews one after the other in different office fees, but it is clear that this is a very joint operation and they appreciate each other very much. His first company, Ganymede Pharmaceuticals, which specializes in monoclonal antibodies to help fight cancer, eventually sold for 1. 7.7 billion. His other company, Binetech, based in his hometown of Mainz, created an individual cancer vaccine from Messenger mRNA to keep genetic instructions to cells. Primarily they also knew that these methods could potentially work against the virus.
While they were having breakfast on January 27, Dr. Sahin mentioned an article he had read in a set about a strange new disease that had spread to Dr. Han. He immediately understood the potential effects of a virus that is highly contagious and can even be asymptomatic. When he researched the air links between Wuhan and other cities, he realized that COVD-19 was likely to become a global epidemic.
The couple went into action, created the Light Speed project, named it because they were convinced that they needed to act as quickly as possible so that the world would not be ruined by the coronavirus. Helped fund Pfizer, a U.S. pharmaceutical company.
“The first decision was to use our mRNA technology to set the epidemic. It is very versatile, said Dr. Says Tureki. Soon their 600 employees focused on finding a vaccine. “We realized it could be a big threat. We talked about different scenarios and what emerged is a more serious and frightening scenario, ”she says.
She explains that her desire to find a vaccine did not evolve out of any competitive, financial or scientific incentive, but she felt it was “moral” to help the world. “We always needed to know the immune system well. This is a skill that now makes it our duty to contribute, ”he explains. The team has worked night and day shifts, ensuring that all its experiments continue for twenty-four hours. “Many of us don’t have holidays and have worked on weekends, that’s why we were able to do that. We are also available for different time zones; We are in constant meetings with Pfizer in America and with our Chinese partner.
The couple never thought of losing. “We’ve been in the field of innovation for many years. We have a habit of thinking about scenarios that won’t work, rather than making sure to address those potential mistakes.” “This very prudent and scientific way of doing it allows us to stay away from the pessimistic mind-wandering mode.”
But they were still in the new territory. “There are a number of steps that need to be adapted. We have new insights and have digested them to move on to the next step. You start without knowing anything, just make hypotheses and then we see that we get all the effects we want … Bits and pieces of information came together in this study that we found encouraging and we will strengthen the belief that we can make a difference. “
As soon as the trial results began to come in, they knew they were on to something. “I didn’t expect it to be 90 percent effective but after looking at the immunology data I felt that the virus is very different from what we have encountered, except that we will have some kind of effect.”
It is not yet clear if people who have been inoculated can still pass the virus to others, even if they do not get sick. “They can be contagious. We will learn more as more tests come. In an epidemic, the first goal and objective is to ensure that the disease is prevented and that there are certain flock immunity. “
The vaccine has been tested on the elderly, the young and the weak. “They also have strong immune responses. We can’t expose people who are seriously ill for moral reasons, but we have people who have cardiological disease, lung disruption, cancer, diabetes, obesity. “
They don’t know for months how long the inoculations will last, or they will need to be updated like flu jabs. “We have 80 days now, and the immune response is stable and constant. It’s encouraging. ”
The vaccine must be kept at minus 70C for stability and cost about $ 40 per treatment. “Normally when you are developing a vaccine you will have seven to eight years to do clinical development to optimize storage conditions. I would expect costs to come down. ”
COVID-19 has already killed 1.2 million people. The goal is to develop herd immunity worldwide. This will require people to address their concerns about the consequences of being vaccinated. Does he worry about the fear of anti-oxidants?
“Our duty is to present our data in a transparent manner to assess everyone, to ensure that people can tell themselves about us and other vaccines,” she replied before insisting the vaccine is safe and effective. “I’ll have it, I’ll get it to my family.”
There have been reports that Dr. Tureki, now 53, wanted to be a nun, but says that science has always been his “high passion,” adding, “I think you use science and technology. That is the noblest thing you can do. People, that was my inspiration. “
Her husband, 55, Dr. Sahin, joins the call and explains that her motives are equally philanthropic. “I walk out of curiosity, I always ask questions, I have to understand how things work,” he says. “I work in a cancer hospital and I have had to tell a lot of patients that we can’t help them anymore. As a scientist I knew we weren’t doing everything possible so we needed to do more. That’s what draws me. “
They clearly prefer to work together. “Everyone has complementary skills and we try to harmonize,” Dr. Says Tureki. She enters to go to her next meeting and Dr. Sahter Sahin handles the unified conversation. “It’s a real privilege to work together. You don’t have to explain every day why you are doing things. Her office fees are only one door down so if I have a good idea, I’ll go to the front and we’ll discuss it and we don’t always have the same opinion. “
They admit that the discovery of this vaccine has taken their lives. He says, “We talk at every opportunity, but they don’t resent the ambiguity of work and home boundaries. “It simply came to our notice then. We are not important, that is the work we are doing. We need to try everything and if that is not enough we have to accept it. “
They should feel the weight of the world’s expectations on their shoulders. “Of course it’s a big responsibility,” says Dr. Sahin. “The vehicle we drive has the knowledge that there are children who want to live a normal life, there is a mother, a teacher, an elderly person being isolated, there is a great need.”
But he insists that the pressure to get a quick result cannot be allowed to compromise safety. “We have to tick every box so there are no cutting corners,” he says. “Because we’re fast we also need to be more diligent.” Waiting for trial results was painful. “Curiosity and discomfort go from day to day.”
When Albert Borla, Pfizer’s Greek chief executive, telephoned him on Sunday night to say that the vaccine was 90 percent effective in preventing coronavirus, there was an “increase in time” in seconds. “Anxiety increased and then got better. It was an extreme relief. It just makes so much sense. “
What excites him the most is the idea that the technology he and his wife have developed will explode as it goes viral in the future. “This epidemic teaches us that we need to be better prepared. We are building new manufacturing facilities so that the next three months can be even faster. We need to come up with an international plan. ”
Dr. Sah. Sahin has expressed concern that rich countries will buy all the bucks, leaving the developing world insecure. “This has been my concern from the beginning … We are now working on the next pay generation vaccine where we will be able to further reduce the dose and increase the standard of our production there.” Wealthy assumptions should not be able to pay for inoculation privately by building a line, he insists. “At this stage it must be done by the governments … I believe that in the first quarter of 2021 we will have three, maybe five, companies that can provide vaccines and in the middle of next year there will be eight or nine companies.”
Dr .. Turkey and Dr Dr .. Sahin do not want to profit from their discovery, even though their company is now worth billion 26 billion. “Our need for money is a necessity of normal life,” he says. “We do not have special needs. We don’t even have a car. A yacht would be impractical. ”
They occasionally go on vacation on the Canary Islands, preferring an apartment near the sea. “We have half the vacation time and half the time we continue our work so it needs to be made an apartment with an internet connection. I always say that getting a vacation by working is great. “Their flat, which they share with their teenage daughter, is polite. They toast their victory by brewing Turkish tea.
Dr. Sah. Sahin says the success of his research proves the benefits of global exchange of ideas. “We have people from more than 60 countries in our company, even though our meetings are in Germany, we are always in English. We have people from Asia, Africa, United States, England, Europe, Turkey. “Science doesn’t matter where you are from, what you can do and what you are willing to do. This is a vaccine that is a vaccine not only for Pfizer and Binetech, but also for mankind because everyone has their history and education. It just shows that if you are given the opportunity, everyone can contribute. “
– This piece first appeared in the London Times
Of course
Ugur Sahin
Born In Iskenderun, Turkey. He is 55 years old.
Education Studied medicine at Cologne University, where he also earned a PhD.
Career After an eight-year residency at University Hospital in Saarland, he joined the faculty of the University of Mainz in 2000, where he became a professor in 2006. In 2001, he and Dr. Turkey co-founded Ganymede Pharmaceuticals, developed cancer immunotherapy and was acquired in 2016 by Estellas Pharma. He is now the chief executive of Beontek. In 2019, he was awarded the Mustafa Prize, a biennial Iranian prize to Muslims in science and technology.
Ozlem Turkey
Born Lower Saxony, Germany. He is 53 years old.
Education Saarland University Faculty of Medicine, Hamburg.
Career After co-founding Ganymede Pharmaceuticals in 2001, she became Fischer’s chief executive in 2008. She joined Beyonc માં in 2008 as a member of the Clinical and Scientific Advisory Board, before becoming Chief Medical Officer in 2008. He is also the Chairman and Co-Initiator of CI3. President of the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy.
Family They married in 2002 and have a teenage daughter.
Dr. Sahin responded to the rapid fire
Marie and Pierre Curie or Louis Pasteur? It is very difficult. I would choose both.
Nature or upbringing? Nature
Poetry or prose? Poetry
Bicycle or car? Bicycle
Nobel Prize or a Yacht? Nobel Prize
Goethe or Shakespeare? Shakespeare
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