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VOL. 31/13 Friday, March 26, 2021 13 Sha’ban 1442 AH

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Mardan Bride Why Side Effects Omar Kureishi’s For news,

Demands Books Are Worse after Once Upon a updated round
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as Haq Mehr Second Dose Time Reviewed www.PakistanLink.com
Muslim Scientist behind Coronavirus Shot Says Next Target Is Cancer

n By Frank Jordans
Berlin: The scientist who won the
race to deliver the first widely used
coronavirus vaccine says people can
rest assured the shots are safe, and
the technology behind it will soon be
used to fight another global scourge
— cancer.
Ozlem Tureci, who co-founded
the German company BioNTech
with her husband, was working on
a way to harness the body’s immune
system to tackle tumors when they
learned last year of an unknown virus
infecting people in China.
Over breakfast, the couple de-
cided to apply the technology they’d
been researching for two decades to
the new threat, dubbing the effort
“Project Lightspeed.”
Within 11 months, Britain had
authorized the use of the mRNA
vaccine BioNTech developed with
the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer,
followed a week later by the United
States. Tens of millions of people
worldwide have received the shot
since December.
“It pays off to make bold deci-
sions and to trust that if you have an
extraordinary team, you will be able On Friday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier awarded the wife and husband one of the country’s highest decorations, the Order of Merit, during a ceremony
to solve any problem and obstacle attended by Chancellor Angela Merkel, a trained scientist herself. “You began with a drug to treat cancer in a single individual,” Steinmeier told the couple. “And today we
which comes your way in real time,” have a vaccine for all of humanity”
Tureci told The Associated Press in
an interview. vaccine would pass the rigorous scru- have been vaccinated,” she said. The vaccines made by BioN- On Friday, German President
Among the biggest challenges tiny of regulators. As BioNTech’s profile has grown Tech-Pfizer and US rival Moderna Frank-Walter Steinmeier awarded
for the small, Mainz-based company “The process of getting a medi- during the pandemic, so has its value, uses messenger RNA, or mRNA, to the wife and husband one of the
that had yet to get a product to mar- cine or a vaccine approved is one carry instructions into the human country’s highest decorations, the
ket was how to conduct large-scale where many questions are asked, Asked when such body for making proteins that prime Order of Merit, during a ceremo-
clinical trials across different regions many experts are involved and there a therapy might be it to attack a specific virus. The same ny attended by Chancellor Angela
and how to scale up the manufactur- is external peer review of all the data principle can be applied to get the Merkel, a trained scientist herself.
ing process to meet global demand. and scientific discourse,” she said. available, Tureci said immune system to take on tumors. “You began with a drug to treat
Along with Pfizer, the company Amid a scare in Europe this “that’s very difficult to “We have several different can- cancer in a single individual,” Stein-
enlisted the help of Fosun Pharma week over the coronavirus shot made cer vaccines based on mRNA,” said meier told the couple. “And today we
in China “to get assets, capabilities by British-Swedish rival AstraZen- predict in innovative Tureci, who is BioNTech’s chief med- have a vaccine for all of humanity.”
and geographical footprint on board, eca, Tureci dismissed the idea that development. But we ical officer. Tureci said ahead of the ceremo-
which we did not have,” Tureci said. any corners were cut by those racing Asked when such a therapy ny that getting the award was “indeed
Among the lessons she and her to develop a vaccine. expect that within only might be available, Tureci said “that’s an honor.”
husband, BioNTech chief executive “There is a very rigid process in a couple of years, we will very difficult to predict in innova- But she insisted developing the
Ugur Sahin, learned along with their place and the process does not stop tive development. But we expect that vaccine was the work of many.
colleagues was “how important co- after a vaccine has been approved,” also have our vaccines within only a couple of years, we will “It’s about the effort of many:
operation and collaboration is inter- she said. “It is, in fact, continuing now (against) cancer at a also have our vaccines (against) can- our team at BioNTech, all the part-
nationally.” all around the world, where regula- place where we can offer cer at a place where we can offer them ners who were involved, also govern-
Tureci, who was born in Ger- tors have used reporting systems to to people.” ments, regulatory authorities, which
many to Turkish immigrants, said screen and to assess any observations them to people” For now, Tureci and Sahin are worked together with a sense of ur-
the company, which has staff mem- made with our or other vaccines.” trying to ensure the vaccines govern- gency,” Tureci said. “The way we see
bers from 60 countries, reached out Tureci and her colleagues have providing funds the company can use ments have ordered are delivered and it, this is an acknowledgement of this
to medical oversight bodies from the all received the BioNTech vaccine to pursue its original goal of develop- that the shots respond effectively to effort and also a celebration of sci-
start, to ensure that the new type of themselves, she told the AP. “Yes, we ing a new tool against cancer. any new mutation in the virus. ence.” – AP

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