The scientists Katalin Karikó, Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci receive the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize 2022. This recognizes their work in researching the mRNA technology on which the corona vaccine manufactured by BioNTech is based, among other things.

Sahin and Türeci are the founders of the Mainz company;

Karikó is its senior vice president.

The Ehrlich Prize is endowed with 120,000 euros.

It is considered to be one of the most prestigious medical prizes: 25 of the 128 researchers awarded so far have also received the Nobel Prize.

The award will be presented on March 14, 2022 in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt.

Sascha Zoske

Journalist in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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The process that the three award winners have made ready for use is based on supplying the human body with information for the production of certain proteins.

A messenger RNA (mRNA) is used for this.

It normally transports the genetic code from the cell nucleus to the cell's “protein factories”.

Thanks to Karikó, Sahin and Türeci, mRNA molecules can now be produced that contain, for example, production instructions for virus antigens or fragments of tumors.

These proteins can then be used to train the immune system so that it learns to attack the virus or cancer.

Individual gene analysis to fight cancer

The 66-year-old Karikó, a biochemist from Hungary, has created the prerequisites for introducing mRNA into living body cells without triggering an undesirable defense reaction. Doctors Türeci and Sahin, 54 and 55 years old, have been working on developing vaccines against cancer since the mid-1990s. To do this, they analyze the genome of tumor cells in order to identify which of the cancer proteins are particularly well recognized by the body's own defenses. The mRNA, which codes for these proteins, is then administered to the patient. The aim is to develop individually tailored treatments. Sahin and Türeci managed to change the mRNA so that it remains stable for a long time and reaches the so-called dendritic cells in the body,which play an important role in mobilizing the immune system.

As the Paul Ehrlich Foundation writes, several of the therapeutic cancer vaccines have now successfully passed the first phase of clinical testing. The mRNA technology also opens up the possibility of producing further vaccines against infectious diseases as well as new treatment approaches for diseases such as cystic fibrosis and multiple sclerosis. Many hereditary and metabolic diseases are caused by the fact that the organism either lacks certain proteins or these are defective. If the body succeeds in stimulating the production of functional proteins, a cure is conceivable.