the times | Saturday November 14 2020 2GM 45
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would get my family to have it.”
There have been reports that Dr
Tureci, now 53, wanted to become a
nun, but she says science has always
been her “high passion”, adding: “I
think the most noble thing you can
use science and technology for is to
serve the people.”
Her husband, Dr Sahin, 55, joins
the call and explains that his motives
are similarly altruistic. “I am driven
by curiosity, I am always asking
questions, I want to understand how
things work,” he says. “I work in a
cancer hospital and I had to tell many
patients that we can’t help them any
more. As a scientist I knew that we
are not doing everything that is
possible so we need to do more.
That’s what drives me on.”
They clearly love working together.
“Each has their complementary skills
and we try to synergise,” Dr Tureci
says. She logs off to go to her next
meeting and Dr Sahin takes over the
conversation. “It really is a privilege
to work together. You don’t need to
explain every day why you are doingthings. Her office is just one door
down so if I have a good idea, I go
next door and we discuss it and we
don’t have always the same opinion.”
The search for the vaccine has, he
admits, taken over their lives. “We
talk at every opportunity,” he says,
but they don’t resent the blurring of
the boundaries between work and
home. “At the end of the day it is also
our passion. We are not important, it’s
the task we are doing. We need to try
everything and if it’s not sufficient
then we have to accept that.” Theymust feel the weight of the world’s
expectations on their shoulders. “Of
course it is a huge responsibility,” Dr
Sahin says. “What drives us is the
knowledge that there are kids who
want to have a normal life, there’s the
mother, the teacher, the old person
being isolated, there is so much need.”
But he insists that the pressure to
get a quick result cannot be allowed
to undermine safety. “We have to tick
every box so there is no cutting
corners,” he says. “Because we are fast
we need to be even more diligent.”When Albert Bourla, the Greek
chief executive of Pfizer, telephoned
him on Sunday to give him the early
findings there was “an elongation of
time” in the seconds before he told
him that the vaccine was 90 per cent
effective. “It was an extreme relief. It
just means so much.”
What excites him most is the
thought that the technology he and
his wife have developed could be
adapted for future viral outbreaks.
“We need to be prepared even better.
We are building new manufacturing
facilities, so we could be even three
months faster the next time. We need
an international plan.”D
r Sahin worries that rich
countries will buy up all
the batches, leaving the
developing world
unprotected. “This was my
concern from the very beginning...
We are working on a next-generation
vaccine where we might be able to
further reduce the dose and thereby
increase our manufacturing scale.”
The wealthy should not be able to
jump the queue and pay to be
inoculated privately, he insists. “At
this stage it must be through
governments... I assume that in the
first quarter of 2021 we would have
three, maybe five, companies which
can supply vaccines and by the
middle of next year there might be
eight or nine companies.”
Dr Tureci and Dr Sahin are not
looking to profit from their discovery,
though their company is now valued
at £20 billion. “We do not have special
needs. We don’t even have a car. A
yacht would be impractical.” They
occasionally go on holiday to the
Canary Islands, choosing an
apartment near the sea. “Half the
time we have a vacation and half the
time our work continues so it needs
an internet connection. I always say
it’s great to have a vacation doing
work.” Their flat, which they share
with their teenage daughter, is
modest. They toast their triumphs by
brewing Turkish tea.
Dr Sahin says the success of their
research proves the benefits of a
cosmopolitan exchange of ideas. “In
our company we have people from
more than 60 countries. In science it
does not matter where you are from,
what counts is what you can do and
what you are willing to do. This is a
vaccine not only by Pfizer and
Biontech, it is a vaccine by mankind
because every single individual has
their history and education. It just
shows that if you are given a chance
to, everyone can contribute.”FELIX SCHMITT/FOCUS/EYEVINE