Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci, creators of the Pfizer vaccine and BioNTech: “The coronavirus is here to stay and it will become more resistant”

In an interview with the French newspaper The echoes, the founders of BioNTech, the company behind one of the most widely used developments in the fight against COVID-19, argued that people who are not immune with a vaccine are likely to get it, even with a virus that could become increasingly contagious.

The coronavirus “is here to stay and will become more and more resistant”, say BioNTech, Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci, who also confirmed that they have a proven process that allows a new vaccine to be obtained in 100 days if needed.

In view of the debate on the compulsory nature of the vaccine, which is advancing in France and Greece for some health professionals, vaccination is particularly useful, but, according to Sahin, it is above all an “individual responsibility”.

“The next generation of the virus will have an infectivity rate of around 6 to 8”

For the co-founder, in his vision, as a doctor and scientist, “Making it compulsory could have the opposite effect from that sought”. Rather, the researcher advocates an approach based on transparency and education, to convince people of the benefits of vaccination.

The description of the fight that awaits us will be extended over time. People who do not get the vaccine “are likely to be infected,” says co-founder Ugur Sahin. “The next generation of the virus will have an infectivity rate of around 6 to 8, which means that an infected person can infect up to 8 people who are not immune.”, he warns.

However, despite the speed of propagation of the Delta variant, which according to the World Health Organization, it is already present in at least 104 countries, Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci say they do “Laboratory tests to see if the serum of a vaccinated person can also protect against the new variants.”

Are messenger RNA vaccines really effective? According to the creators, the vaccine provides two layers of protection. The first is provided by neutralizing antibodies that bind to the virus and prevent it from entering our cells. This layer is crucial in preventing infection.

The second layer is provided by the T cells, a very sophisticated protective layer. “If the virus was successful in entering cells and causing infection, the different T cells would stop their spread and kill the infected cells to prevent severe cases of the disease,” Sahin explains.

Although the level of antibodies decreases over time, T cells help protect a person from serious illness and hospitalization. For scientists, there is more than twenty years of research and work to optimize the immune response by learning how to induce antibody and T cell responses.

BioNTech also assures that more than 30 variants have been tested and that “current development shows neutralizing activity against all of them”, although for some the activity of the antibodies is lower, for example 2 to 3 times.

As Israel began applying a third dose for patients with weakened immune systems, in addition to a meeting between Pfizer executives and US regulatory authorities (FDA) to authorize a new booster injection, Sahin stressed that “there is no need to be afraid of the Delta variant”, but that a “booster shot” may be necessary. to strengthen the immune system against this most contagious strain.

Consulted by the outbreaks observed, especially when Europe has increasing contagion curves in the middle of the summer season, Özlem Türeci, explained that the virus is here to stay.

“The virus will continue to mutate and we will have regular small epidemics”

“It will continue to mutate and we will have regular small epidemics. Our clinical trials have already shown that a third injection will likely be helpful. But we do not yet have enough scientific data to know when this third injection should be given. This decision must be taken by the regulatory authorities “said the co-founder and wife Sahin.

The experts, both of Turkish origin, also confirmed the interest in adapting the platform of their anti-COVID 19 serum. “If it has to be adapted, it is technically simple with mRNA technology and we have been able to experiment with it hundreds of times in the field of cancer”.

This vaccine can replace the genetic code of the Spike protein of the original virus with that of the new variant of our vaccine. “The first batch of mRNA to test a suitable vaccine has already been designed and manufactured. We plan to start clinical trials in August ”, they added.

“We have a proven process whereby a new vaccine is available within 100 days if it is really needed.”, both agreed. However, this decision must be made by the regulatory authorities and relevant government institutions, which is accelerating in the United States.

“We have a proven process whereby a new vaccine is available within 100 days if it is really needed.”

Regarding the efficacy, questioned in relation to certain data such as those from Israel which mention a protection between 60 and 64%, Sahin stressed that the vaccine developed by BioNTech in Germany “It is approximately 89% effective against the symptomatic variant of Delta disease two weeks after full vaccination”, citing the results of a British study.

During the interview with the French economic daily, they also recommended to put a system for observing the evolution of the virus as in the case of influenza. For them “it is very important to be able to make decisions based on data, which means that the scientific community and the health authorities must understand against which variant to protect themselves, in which region and if it requires adaptation of the vaccine”.

Finally, Ugur Sahin y Ozlem Türeci, highlighted the importance of having launched the messenger RNA platform in the real world. This means, by the end of the year, more than one billion people who have received the BioNTech vaccine.

This represents a database that highlights the efficacy and tolerance of this product, in addition to adding income that will allow the development of projects in the field of immunotherapy to treat cancer..

For two of the central figures in the fight against Covid 19, although the development of immunotherapy in the field of cancer is slower than that of a vaccine against an infectious disease, they have several phase II studies in patients with melanoma, head and neck cancer. , and personalized development for early stage colorectal cancer, which is very relevant. The time to know the results would be in three or four years.

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