Ugur Sahin

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Uğur Şahin (2019)

Uğur Şahin [ uːɾ ʃaː.hin ] (born September 19, 1965 in İskenderun , Turkey ) is a German doctor . His main research interests are cancer research and immunology . Since 2006 he has been Professor of Experimental Oncology at III. Medical Clinic of the University of Mainz and since 2008 with his wife Özlem Türeci founder and CEO of BioNTech . Şahin is one of the leading developers of vaccines against COVID-19.

Life and education

Şahin, born in Turkey, moved with his mother from Turkey at the age of four to live with his father, who worked in the Ford factory in Cologne . In addition to football, he was particularly interested in popular science books that he borrowed from the church library. In elementary school, he was refused a recommendation for high school and was only made possible after a neighbor intervened. Şahin graduated from high school in 1984 at today's Erich-Kästner-Gymnasium (then: Städtisches Neusprachliches Gymnasium Castroper Str.) In Cologne-Niehl , as the school's first guest worker child of Turkish origin . He had taken the advanced courses in mathematics and chemistry and was best of the year. His interest in immunology was aroused early on by a television program with the doctor and science journalist Hoimar von Ditfurth .

From 1984 to 1992 he studied medicine at the University of Cologne . It was founded in 1992 with a thesis on immunotherapy in tumor cells (bispecific monoclonal antibodies to activate cytotoxic precursors to tumor cells) , with summa cum laude was graded, PhD . He followed his doctoral supervisor Michael Pfreundschuh to Saarland University in 1992 . From 1992 to 1994 he studied mathematics at the Fernuniversität Hagen .

Şahin met his future wife Özlem Türeci while working at the Saarland University Hospital in Homburg , when Türeci was doing her final year of study there. The couple, who have a daughter, got married in 2002.

Works

Şahin worked as a doctor for internal medicine and hematology / oncology from 1991 to 2000 at the University of Cologne Clinic and then at the Saarland University Clinic in Homburg. He completed his habilitation in 1999 in the field of molecular medicine and immunology. After a station in the University Hospital Zurich in 2000 at the Institute for Experimental Immunology, he switched to the University Medical Center Mainz . There he has held various leading positions in the areas of cancer research and immunology since 2001 and was lecturer for experimental oncology at the III. Medical clinic.

Şahin is working on the identification and characterization of new target molecules ( antigens ) for immunotherapy in cancer tumors, e.g. B. in breast cancer , prostate cancer , lung cancer and other dangerous cancers . The aim is to develop a cancer vaccine based on ribonucleic acid (RNA), a messenger substance with genetic information, which should trigger a corresponding reaction of the immune system and thus lead to the inhibition and regression of tumors .

Şahin sees himself as an immune engineer who tries to use the body's antiviral mechanisms to treat cancer, for example, when the immune system does not otherwise act against it. He sees his vision in guiding the immune system to "protect us from certain diseases or to alleviate them".

Mainz University Medical Center

In 2000, Şahin became a junior research group leader at the Collaborative Research Center 432 of the Mainz University Medical Center and in 2003 chairman of the Tumor Vaccine Center. Since 2006 he has been a private lecturer in the Department of Experimental and Translational Oncology. In 2010 he was the founder of translational oncology at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (TRON for short). This is a biopharmaceutical research institute that develops new diagnostics and drugs for the treatment of cancer and other diseases with a high unmet medical need. His focus is individualized medicine and cancer immunotherapy . From its founding until September 2019, he was its scientific director. Since then he has worked as a scientific advisor and supervisor for doctoral students . Şahin was awarded the German Cancer Prize in 2019 for his work in this area . He is deputy head of the University Center for Tumor Diseases Mainz (UCT Mainz), which was founded in 2011. The UCT Mainz is an amalgamation of all oncological institutions of the Mainz University Medical Center that focus on clinical oncology or oncological research. In 2017 he was involved in setting up the new Helmholtz Institute HI-TRON, which is a cooperation between the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and TRON. He is one of the scientific directors of the new Helmholtz Institute.

The project he led to develop innovative vaccines against cancer was one of twelve projects that received funding for two phases from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the newly created biotechnology start-up initiative (GO-Bio) in the first selection round in 2006 . The first phase from 2007 to 2010 was initially implemented at the Mainz University Medical Center and from March 2010 to 2013 at Biontech.

Ganymed Pharmaceuticals

Şahin founded Ganymed Pharmaceuticals in 2001 with his future wife Özlem Türeci. This company developed the monoclonal antibody zolbetuximab, which is intended to be used against cancer of the esophagus and stomach . In 2016, the company was sold to Astellas Pharma for at least three-digit million euros . After successful phase II studies , the drug will be in phase III as of 2020 .

Biontech

Biontech headquarters in Mainz

In 2006, Şahin won funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the biotechnology start- up initiative that laid the foundation for today's Biontech , which was founded in 2008 as Biontech RNA Pharmaceuticals GmbH (now BioNTech SE) based in Mainz . Şahin took over the management of the company. Biontech is focused on the development and manufacture of active immunotherapies for a patient-specific approach to the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases. The focus of research by Şahin on the investigation of drugs on mRNA basis for use as individualized cancer immunotherapies , as vaccines against infectious diseases and as a protein replacement therapies for rare diseases . Biontech has been developing the vaccine BNT162b2 against the infectious disease COVID-19 since April 2020 under the direction of Şahin and his wife Özlem Türeci . Şahin is the owner of various patents that he has registered with his company and partners.

Regarding the cooperation with other companies regarding COVID-19, Şahin said: “Cooperation is an absolute key to this global challenge.” Şahin speaks out against compulsory vaccination and emphasizes that it is voluntary.

Şahin holds 17.25% of the shares in Biontech, making him one of the 500 richest people in the world with assets of over $ 5 billion in December 2020. His net worth rose to $ 8.35 billion as of May 2021.

Memberships

Şahin has been a member of the German Society for Immunology since 2004 and a member of the Program Committee of the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy (CIMT), Regulatory Research Group, Mainz, since 2008. In 2012 he was one of the founders of the Cluster of Individualized Immunointervention (Ci3) in Mainz. He has been a member of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) since 2014 and of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) since 2015.

Awards (selection)

Award of an honorary doctorate from the Medical Faculty of the University of Cologne in Cologne City Hall, 2021

Publications

The PubMed database of the US National Library of Medicine lists over 350 publications in which Şahin has contributed, several of them as first or last author.

In addition, the US Patent and Trademark Office assigns various patents to him.

Web links

Commons : Uğur Şahin  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

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  2. ↑ Johannes Göbel: Successful "Mainz Model". In: Germany portal. Conclusion Communication in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office, March 26, 2015, accessed on October 26, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Kurt Stukenberg: immune engineers in the race against time . In: Der Spiegel . Spiegel-Verlag Rudolf Augstein, Hamburg October 23, 2020 ( spiegel.de [accessed October 26, 2020]).
  4. ^ A b Martin U. Müller : Biontech founders Şahin and Türeci: The winners of the year. In: spiegel.de. December 15, 2020, accessed December 15, 2020 .
  5. ^ Franz Josef Wagner: Subject: We are vaccine . In: BZ No. 234 . BZ Ullstein, October 7, 2020, p. 18 .
  6. ↑ Corona vaccine could make Biontech founder Ugur Sahin world famous. In: RTL . October 21, 2020 ( rtl.de [accessed October 26, 2020]).
  7. ↑ Ugur Sahin, founder and CEO Biontech | MyGrandStory . In: MyGrandStory . February 11, 2021 ( mygrandstory.org [accessed June 4, 2021]).
  8. ↑ Bastian Ebel: Proud of Cologne School: Crazy Way of Life: Ex-high school graduate becomes a world star in Corona time. November 11, 2020, accessed on November 20, 2020 (German).
  9. ↑ Sebastian Balzter: The dream couple in the biotech industry . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung . August 21, 2016, p. 27 ( hmw.ag [PDF; accessed on October 26, 2020]).
  10. ↑ Development of innovative vaccines against cancer. In: YouTube. Retrieved October 26, 2020 .
  11. ↑ a b Prof. Dr. Ugur Sahin, member of the FZI. (PDF) Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI) at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, accessed on October 26, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Tobias Stolzenberg: Two against cancer . In: Technology Review . No. 5 . Heise Verlag, Hannover 2018 ( heise.de [accessed October 26, 2020]).
  13. ↑ Kristina Läsker: The cancer researcher . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . Edition Munich. January 14, 2009, p. 18 ( yumpu.com [accessed October 26, 2020]).
  14. ↑ a b c Prof. Dr. med. Ugur Sahin. In: SFB 1399: Mechanisms of Drug Sensitivity and Resistance in Small Cell Lung Cancer. Department of Translational Genomics, University of Cologne, accessed October 26, 2020 .
  15. ↑ Stefan Groß-Lobkowicz: Corona vaccine: We have planned up to 100 million doses for 2020. In: The European . Weimer Media Group, October 23, 2020 ( theeuropean.de [accessed October 26, 2020]).
  16. ↑ Petra Apfel: Greatest hope for decades: Individual cancer vaccination kills tumors. In: Focus Online . September 9, 2015 ( focus.de [accessed October 26, 2020]).
  17. ↑ Ugur Sahin - Biography. In: ORCID. Retrieved October 26, 2020 .
  18. ↑ About TRON. TRON - Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, accessed on October 26, 2020 .
  19. ↑ Management. TRON - Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, accessed on October 26, 2020 .
  20. ↑ New top research institute in Mainz: TRON - Translational Oncology. Link between university, university medicine and business. Ministry for Science, Further Education and Culture of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, February 18, 2010, accessed on October 26, 2020 (press release).
  21. ↑ Petra Spielberg: Ugur Sahin: With individualized therapies against cancer. In: Deutsches Ärzteblatt . No. 116 , 2019 ( aerzteblatt.de [accessed October 26, 2020]).
  22. ↑ Renée Dillinger-Reiter: Professor Ugur Sahin receives the German Cancer Prize 2019. Universitätsmedizin Mainz, February 28, 2019, accessed on October 26, 2020 (press release).
  23. ↑ Management. University Center for Tumor Diseases Mainz (UCT Mainz), accessed on October 26, 2020 .
  24. ^ CCC network of the German Cancer Aid - members - Mainz. German Cancer Aid Foundation, accessed on October 26, 2020 .
  25. ↑ University of Mainz has a new tumor center. Professional Association of German Internists, June 22, 2011, accessed on October 26, 2020 (press release).
  26. ↑ Renée Dillinger-Reiter: Personalized immunotherapy against cancer. Mainz University Medical Center, March 1, 2017, accessed on October 26, 2020 (press release).
  27. ↑ Helmholtz Institute for Translational Oncology Mainz. German Cancer Research Center, accessed on October 26, 2020 .
  28. ↑ Precision Strike Against Cancer. Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), February 14, 2019, accessed on October 26, 2020 .
  29. ↑ New Helmholtz Institute . Victory against cancer is not impossible. In: The world . February 14, 2019 ( welt.de [accessed October 26, 2020]).
  30. ↑ Development of innovative vaccines against cancer . In: Federal Ministry for Education and Research . November 12, 2020 ( go-bio.de [accessed on March 12, 2021]).
  31. ↑ GO-Bio: an overview of all award winners . In: Federal Ministry for Education and Research . ( biooekonomie.de [accessed on March 12, 2021]).
  32. ↑ Joe Miller: Ugur Sahin: The Immunologist Racing To Find a Vaccine . In: Financial Times . March 20, 2020 (English, ft.com [accessed October 26, 2020]).
  33. ↑ Tobias Stolzenberg: Two against cancer . In: Heise Online . October 8, 2018 ( heise.de [accessed October 26, 2020]).
  34. ↑ Astellas buys Ganymede . In: transcript . October 28, 2016 ( transkript.de [accessed October 26, 2020]).
  35. ↑ O. Türeci, U. Sahin, H. Schulze-Bergkamen, Z. Zvirbule, F. Lordick: A Multicentre, Phase Iia Study of Zolbetuximab as a Single Agent in Patients With Recurrent or Refractory Advanced Adenocarcinoma of the Stomach or Lower Oesophagus: The Mono Study . In: Annals of Oncology: Official Journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology . tape 30 , no. 9 , June 26, 2019, ISSN  1569-8041 , p. 1487–1495 , doi : 10.1093 / annonc / mdz199 , PMID 31240302 , PMC 6771222 (free full text) - (English).
  36. ^ Antibody Shines in Advanced Gastric Cancer. June 5, 2016, accessed October 26, 2020 .
  37. ↑ A Study of Zolbetuximab (IMAB362) Plus CAPOX Compared With Placebo Plus CAPOX as First-line Treatment of Subjects With Claudin (CLDN) 18.2-Positive, HER2-Negative, Locally Advanced Unresectable or Metastatic Gastric or Gastroesophageal Junction (GEJ) Adenocarcinoma. In: ClinicalTrials. US National Library of Medicine, accessed October 26, 2020 .
  38. ↑ Development of innovative vaccines against cancer. BMBF, November 12, 2020, accessed on March 14, 2021 .
  39. ↑ Ugur Sahin, Profile and Biography. In: Bloomberg. Retrieved October 26, 2020 .
  40. ↑ Hofmann, Siegfried; Terpitz, Katrin: Vaccination against cancer . In: Handelsblatt . March 16, 2016, p. 16 .
  41. ↑ Kutter, Susanne: The big blow in the fight against cancer . In: WirtschaftsWoche . No. 23 , June 3, 2016, p. 14 .
  42. ↑ Siegfried Hofmann, Christian Wermke: Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci: This medical couple is developing a Covid-19 vaccine. In: Handelsblatt . April 23, 2020 ( handelsblatt.com [accessed October 26, 2020]).
  43. ↑ The Husband-and-Wife Team Behind the Leading Vaccine to Solve Covid-19. In: The New York Times. November 10, 2020, accessed on November 17, 2020 .
  44. ↑ Mainz company: How Biontech is fighting against Corona. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . March 16, 2020 ( faz.net [accessed October 26, 2020]).
  45. ↑ Fanny Jimenez: Biontech CEO Ugur Sahin on the corona vaccine: "We called our project 'Lightspeed' to make it clear: We don't waste time." In: Business Insider . finanzen, October 20, 2020 ( businessinsider.de [accessed October 26, 2020]).
  46. ↑ SEC : BioNTech SE: Registration of securities of foreign private issuers pursuant to section 12 (b) or (g) , dated December 31, 2020, published on March 31, 2021, p. 203 (PDF)
  47. ↑ Holger Zschäpitz: The fight against Corona has made Ugur Sahin a multi-billionaire. December 7, 2020, accessed December 7, 2020 .
  48. ↑ Ugur Sahin. Accessed December 23, 2020 .
  49. ↑ Hendrikje Rudnick: From guest worker children to billionaires: Biontech boss Ugur Sahin and his wife Özlem Türeci are among the 100 richest Germans. November 17, 2020, accessed on December 23, 2020 (German).
  50. ↑ Ugur Sahin , Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  51. ^ The Cluster for Individualized Immune Intervention (Ci3). Retrieved October 26, 2020 .
  52. ↑ Cluster for Individualized Immune Intervention (Ci3). BMBF top cluster. In: spitzencluster.de. Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), accessed on October 26, 2020 .
  53. ^ Winner of the Vincenz Czerny Prize and their work. German Society for Hematology and Medical Oncology, accessed on October 26, 2020 .
  54. ↑ Ugur Sahin, Managing Director (Science and Research) of Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz - Tron. University of Birmingham, accessed October 26, 2020 .
  55. ↑ Successful search for tumor markers . In: Doctors newspaper . Springer Medicine, October 13, 2005 ( aerztezeitung.de [accessed October 26, 2020]).
  56. ↑ Koehler Prize. German Society for Immunology, accessed on October 26, 2020 .
  57. ↑ GO-Bio successes. In: go-bio.de. Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), accessed on October 26, 2020 .
  58. ^ Prof. Ugur Sahin Receives Prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant for Personalized Cancer Vaccines. Mainz Science Alliance, April 19, 2018, accessed on October 26, 2020 .
  59. ↑ The 2019 Mustafa Prize Laureates. In: mustafaprize.de. Retrieved October 26, 2020 .
  60. ↑ Four times the German Cancer Prize for DKTK scientists. In: dkfz.de. German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK) - German Cancer Research Center, February 28, 2019, accessed on October 26, 2020 .
  61. ↑ Clive Cookson, Joe Miller: FT People of the Year: BioNTech's Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci. December 16, 2020, accessed December 24, 2020 (UK English).
  62. ↑ Axel Springer Award 2021 goes to Biontech founder . In: The world . December 23, 2020 ( welt.de [accessed December 23, 2020]).
  63. ↑ www.bundespraesident.de February 26, 2021.
  64. ↑ Biontech founders receive the Federal Cross of Merit. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. February 26, 2021, accessed August 30, 2021 .
  65. ↑ Princess of Asturias Prize 2021
  66. ↑ City of Cologne press release of September 17, 2021: Entry in the Golden Book and honorary doctorate from the Medical Faculty, by Simone Winkelhog , accessed on September 17, 2021
  67. ↑ City of Cologne - Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin honored at the historic town hall of Cologne. Retrieved September 17, 2021 .
  68. ↑ co-founders of BioNTech win the European Business Press Award. In: economia.gr. September 12, 2021, accessed September 21, 2021 .
  69. ↑ Katalin Karikó, Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin receive the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize 2022. September 21, 2021, accessed on September 21, 2021 .
  70. ^ PubMed. US National Library of Medicine, accessed November 30, 2020 .
  71. ↑ Advanced Search. In: Patent Full-Text and Image Database. US Patent and Trademark Office, accessed November 25, 2020 .
  72. ↑ Book about Biontech founding couple appears. In: ORF at. August 23, 2021, accessed on August 30, 2021 .
personal data
SURNAME Şahin, Ugur
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Turkish-German medic
BIRTH DATE September 19, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH İskenderun , Turkey