Coronavirus vaccine maker BioNTech wins Germany’s Future Prize

Berlin, November 18 (BNA) The German company BioNTech, which developed a vaccine against the Corona virus with the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, received the German Future Award on Wednesday.

The German News Agency (dpa) reported that this award is one of the largest scientific awards granted by Germany and is awarded annually to an individual or group that has made significant progress in the fields of technology, engineering or natural sciences.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier awarded the award to the team led by the company’s founding couple, Özlem Turci and Ugur Şahin, at a ceremony in Berlin.

The BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine was the first vaccine approved for use in the United States and the European Union. The two-dose vaccine has been in use worldwide for nearly a year now.

It is hoped that the pioneering mRNA technology used in the vaccine could be used in other medical conditions, such as cancer treatments.

The prerequisite for the Future Prize is that the innovation must be developed to be brought to market.

The BioNTech team will receive €250,000 ($283,000) as part of the prize.

There were two other nominees for this year’s award. One of them was a team working to improve computed tomography (CT) scans so that doctors could better see people’s bodies. The other was a group of researchers whose project focused on sustainably produced rubber alternatives.

BioNTech was once a relatively unknown biotech company specializing in nascent mRNA technology headquartered in Mainz, Germany.

Now he is a household name in Germany and has been awarded many honors, including the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

MI