Mustafa Prize Laureate Ugur Sahin makes breakthrough in finding Covid-19 Vaccine

According to MSTF media reports, immunologist Ugur Sahin, the founder and CEO of BioNTech and the 2019 Mustafa(pbuh) Prize laureate for his outstanding work on the development and clinical testing of mRNA-based cancer vaccines, prepared to combat Coronavirus as the virus broke out in China three months ago.

According to Financial Times, Ugur Sahin read a scientific article in January about the first manifestations of this virus in a family in Wuhan, China. While many scientists dismissed this event as non-threatening, Sahin saw through the matter, predicting that this virus is going to spread across the globe.

Warning the board of BioNTech and forming a team to develop a potential vaccine to induce immunity and prevent Covid-19 infection, Sahin prepared for this uncalled-for global health threat.

BioNTech is currently testing the Covid-19 vaccine on lab rats. As BioNTech announced, the vaccines will be ready for trial on humans by the end of April 2020.

A week ago BioNTech announced that the company has embarked on a scientific discovery with Pfizer, an American pharmaceutical company, to "jointly develop BioNTech’s mRNA-based vaccine candidate BNT162 to prevent COVID-19 infection."

The company also announced that it will work jointly with Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical to develop BNT162 in China. "The companies will collaborate to conduct clinical trials in China leveraging Fosun Pharma’s extensive clinical development, regulatory, and commercial capabilities in the country," a BioNTech statement read.