BioNTech founders win German National Prize

The two BioNTech founders Özlem Türeci and Ugur Sahin have been awarded this year's German National Prize. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) praised the entrepreneurs' "extraordinary courage" on Tuesday and emphasized the importance of skilled immigration. Türeci and Sahin had already recognized the "danger of a pandemic" in 2020 and decided to attempt to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus.

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Politics must learn from this courage, Merz continued. At the same time, however, good politics must recognize "that social change takes time," as innovations must be communicated. "Incidentally, this is also a lesson we can learn from the coronavirus pandemic," the Chancellor said.

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The married couple Türeci and Sahin are the founders and CEOs of their Mainz-based company Biontech, which developed an mRNA vaccine against the coronavirus together with Pfizer. Both have a migration background and are children of Turkish immigrants. "We want to live in a Germany where talents and abilities are encouraged to the best of our ability, regardless of social or ethnic background," Merz said.

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"As an economy, we need skilled immigration," the Chancellor continued. "We need skilled immigration as an engine of progress." Ideologies that question this, he said, endanger the country's prosperity and the future of the liberal order. Therefore, a key task for the Federal Government in the coming years will be to create framework conditions for science, research, and development in Germany and Europe that can keep pace "with all research-intensive locations in the world."

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The prize is awarded annually by the German National Foundation and honors individuals who are committed to a democratic society and cohesion in Germany and Europe. It is endowed with 50,000 euros.