The co-founders of BioNTech, Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeciová, plan to leave biotechnology and start a new company focused on mRNA technology[original content]. BioNTech is a German biotechnology company based in Mainz that developed the world's first approved mRNA-based vaccine against COVID-19 in collaboration with Pfizer[2]. The vaccine has been approved in both the US and the EU and its use has prevented many deaths worldwide[1]. Şahin and Türeci are Turkish Germans, descendants of immigrants, and their work has saved millions of lives, as MEP Moritz Körner[1] said. The MEP proposed placing their likenesses on the new euro banknotes as an example of successful integration[1]. BioNTech also deals with immunotherapy against cancer and other diseases using mRNA technology[2]. At the end of 2024, it employed approximately 7,200 people[2]. The European Union supported the development of BioNTech vaccines before the pandemic[5].