Özlem Türeci

Özlem Türeci is a German physician, scientist and entrepreneur. She was the co-founder of the German biotechnology company BioNTech in 2008, which developed the first approved messenger RNA-based vaccine against COVID-19 in 2020. Türeci has served as BioNTech's chief medical officer since 2018. She was founder and CEO of Ganymed Pharmaceuticals from 2008 to 2016. She is also a private lecturer at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. Türeci and her spouse, Uğur Şahin, became the first Turkish Germans among Germany's top 100 wealthiest people list in 2020.