Meet the German couple behind Pfizer's COVID vaccine

Germany: Scientist Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci, who dedicated their lives to finding cures for infectious diseases and cancer, helped develop the COVID-19 vaccine that is being developed by Pfizer.

Positive data on BioNTech and US partner Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine is an unlikely success for the married couple behind the German biotech firm, who have devoted their lives harnessing the immune system against cancer.

Pfizer confirmed that its experimental vaccine is more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on initial data from a large study.

As the son of a Turkish immigrant working at a Ford factory in Cologne, BioNTech's Chief Executive Ugur Sahin, 55, is counted among the 100 most richest Germans, together with his wife and fellow board member, Ozlem Tureci, 53.

Tureci, daughter of a Turkish physician who had migrated to Germany, said that even on their wedding day, both the couple made time for lab work.

Their life as entrepreneurs began in 2001 when they set up Ganymed Pharmaceuticals to develop cancer-fighting antibodies, but Sahin, who was a professor at Mainz university never gave up on his academic research.

Their venture was sold to Japan's Astellas in 2016 for $1.4 million. Meanwhile, the team behind Gaynmed had already built BioNTech, founded in 2008, to pursue a broader range of cancer immunotherapy tools.

This included mRNA, a versatile messenger substance to send genetic instructions into cells.

According to reports, BioNTech had partnered with Pfizer in March and by April, the had begun human trials for vaccines. By September, the duo had been listed among the 100 richest duos.

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