Scientist Behind Pfizer’s Covid Shot Says Cancer Vaccine Could Be Next

• BioNTech co-founder Ozlem Tureci has said that they are currently working on a cancer vaccine.
• The said vaccine could be available within “a couple of years.”
• Tureci and her husband Ugur Sahin have been recognized by the German government for their groundbreaking Covid-19 vaccine.

The scientist behind the groundbreaking vaccine against Covid-19 has declared that their next target is to create an anti-cancer shot. And if things go as planned, it could be available in the market “in a couple of years.”

Ozlem Tureci, who is one of the co-founders of German biotechnology firm BioNTech, shared that she and her husband were working on boosting the body’s immune system against tumors when coronavirus started spreading in China.

While having breakfast, the couple made a decision to utilize the technology they’ve been studying to battle the new disease. They immediately jumped into action and 11 months later, their Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine has been authorized for use.

“It pays off to make bold decisions and to trust that if you have an extraordinary team, you will be able to solve any problem and obstacle which comes your way in real time,” said Tureci.

According to Tureci, they have “several different cancer vaccines based on mRNA” and they will soon be focusing on that. While she couldn’t exactly pinpoint when this type of vaccine will hit the market, she is optimistic that it will be sooner than later.

As she declared:

“We expect that within only a couple of years, we will also have our vaccines (against) cancer at a place where we can offer them to people.”

At the moment, Tureci and her husband Ugur Sahin are doing their best to ensure the delivery of Covid-19 vaccines to different countries and that the shots will be effective against the virus’ new mutations.

Tureci and Sahin were recently awarded by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier who told them:

“You began with a drug to treat cancer in a single individual. And today we have a vaccine for all of humanity.”

Tureci, however, was quick to point out that the vaccine’s success was “the effort of many,” she remarked.

“Our team at BioNTech, all the partners who were involved, also governments, regulatory authorities, which worked together with a sense of urgency,” she likewise added. ”The way we see it, this is an acknowledgement of this effort and also a celebration of science.”