With their vaccine, doctors Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin changed the course of the pandemic and with it their own lives. Today they are world famous and several billionaires. At the beginning of the seven-part podcast, The New Drug – Biontech-History” we both meet in Şahin’s office at the company’s headquarters in Mainz. Before the interview begins, they talk about how they met 30 years ago at the University Hospital in Homburg. Şahin still remembers the couple’s first date in Saarbruecken: it ended at McDonald’s because they missed the last train home. They didn’t have a car even then. But other things have changed.

Now available to listen: The seven-part podcast “A New Drug – The Story of Biontech” offers exclusive insight into the work of Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci, and tells how a previously virtually unknown startup made medical history. here The first four episodes can be found on RTL+ Music. A new episode is released every Thursday on other podcast platforms.

Frau speciesistȘahin, you have been one of the most famous people in Germany since the corona pandemic. How often are you recognized on the street or in the mall?
ŞAHIN: It happens regularly. Most people are friendly, some come up to us and want to thank us for the vaccine.