Uğur Şahin

Uğur Şahin is an oncologist and immunologist from Germany. He is the founder and CEO of BioNTech. His main scientific interests include cancer and immunology. BioNTech, which went public on the Nasdaq in October 2019, is owned by Sahin. He grew up in Germany after being born in Turkey.

He grew up in Cologne and went to the University of Cologne to study medicine. His doctoral thesis in cancer immunotherapy was successfully finished. He began his career as an oncohematology physician in inpatient care and did research at university hospitals in Saarland and Zürich. In 2000, he established a research group at the University of Mainz, and in 2006, he was promoted to professor of experimental oncology.

Şahin began his entrepreneurial career by co-founding two pharmaceutical companies with his partner and spouse, Zlem Türeci, in 2001 and 2008. BioNTech, in collaboration with Pfizer Inc., produced one of the key vaccines that will be used to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In 2016, Astellas Pharma purchased the first pharmaceutical firm they formed for $460 million.

Estimated Net worth: $15.2 Billion