The three Biontech founders have already received a number of awards in recent months for their research work at the speed of light: the Federal Cross of Merit, for example, and the German Future Prize.
On Thursday, the scientists received another honor in their hometown's renovated and recently gleaming gold Rheingoldhalle, which is also only rarely awarded: since 1831 this has only been the case 49 times.
The two professors Özlem Türeci and Ugur Sahin, who are married to one another, may henceforth call themselves honorary citizens of Mainz;
as well as the internationally renowned doctor and scientist Christoph Huber,
Markus Schug
Correspondent Rhein-Main-Süd.
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The company, which was founded in 2008 and is now appropriately based in An der Goldgrube, has managed to develop a corona vaccine based on mRNA technology in less than a year, which has not yet completely stopped the pandemic, but has at least curbed the spread of the disease .
"They accelerated to the speed of light in the pandemic and gave the world the first vaccine against Covid-19," said Mayor Michael Ebling (SPD), alluding to the research project entitled "Lightspeed".
They have been waiting for such an “invention” in Mainz for a long time: Because the media revolution that goes back to Johannes Gutenberg and that emanated from the city, of which they are so proud to this day, was almost 600 years ago.
Since Biontech is also a heavy trade taxpayer, the hitherto cash-strapped municipality wants to redeem cash advances of more than 600 million euros this year and thus pay off a good half of its old debts in one fell swoop.
"We came because of science and stayed because of the people," said Sahin and Türeci, new honorary citizens, about their adopted homeland.
A declaration of love for the city that most people in Mainz must have heard with joy.