BIONTECH

Turkish scientists Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci, the co-founders of BioNTech, have announced that their cancer vaccine has succeeded in halting tumor growth and reducing its size in their initial tests.

EU regulators have recommended authorizing an updated Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech which targets the dominant XBB.1.5 variant of Omicron, putting it on track to become the third adapted shot  by the two companies to be approved in the bloc.

Uğur Şahin, one of BioNTech's co-founders, has announced that their company's cancer treatment medicine will hit the shelves as early as 2026.

Şahin, who has been working with his wife Dr. Özlem Türeci for many years on treatments targeting various types of cancers, especially bowel cancer, stated that the drugs they have developed could be on the market in a few years.

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said it plans a cost-cutting operation if its co-developed with BioTech COVID-19 vaccine and antiviral treatment for the coronavirus continue to underperform in the coming months due to falling demand.

Following a large-scale study conducted on the COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in Türkiye, experts have stressed that some 58 percent of individuals who developed serious illnesses were unvaccinated.

The results of one of the largest studies in the country showing the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine were announced.

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Germany-based biotechnology company BioNTech and Türkiye's Koç University have signed a collaboration agreement that encompasses a series of clinical research, mainly cancer treatments.

US pharmaceutical company Pfizer has agreed to extend its contract with the European Union for the vaccine against COVID-19 from 2023 to 2026, the Financial Times reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Bulgaria, Poland, Lithuania and Hungary insist on renegotiating the conditions for the supply of Pfizer's vaccines against COVID-19, according to a joint statement of their health ministers, quoted by the BTA correspondent in Brussels.

According to the announcement, they submitted their position to the EU Council of Health Ministers, which is meeting on Tuesday in Brussels.

Bulgaria and several other EU countries will insist that the European Health Commission terminate the contract with "Pfizer-Biontech" for the supply of covid vaccines, said acting Minister of Health Asen Medjidiev at a briefing.

Vaccines to fight cancer will be widely available before 2030, say husband and wife Prof. Ugur Şahin and Prof. Özlem Tureçi, creators of one of the most successful vaccines against COVID-19, writes in the New York Times.

Lessons learned from the pandemic will accelerate cancer treatments based on mRNA technology, they say.