A billionaire couple is behind the historic coronavirus vaccine

• A scientist power-couple is a driving force behind Pfizer's new coronavirus vaccine.
• Dr. Ugur Sahin is the CEO and Dr. Özlem Türeci the chief medical officer of BioNTech, the company that created the vaccine in partnership with Pfizer.
• Business Insider took a deep dive into who they are, and how they've made their mark on modern medicine.

Pfizer's new coronavirus vaccine — which boasts at least a 90% efficacy in early trials — made history as the fastest vaccine ever developed.

The vaccine was developed in partnership with German company BioNTech, a company cofounded by a Turkish-German married couple who became billionaires months ago, when the pact with Pfizer was announced. But after this week, the CEO, Dr. Ugur Sahin, and the chief medical officer, Dr. Özlem Türeci, saw their joint fortune skyrocket.

The vaccine-power couple met while working at a university hospital in southwest Germany; they are both German citizens of Turkish origins (Sahin moved with his family to Germany when he was 4 years old).

Sahin is the son of car factory workers, and developed his love of science and research by reading science books. Türeci grew up watching her surgeon father operate on patients.

Business Insider took a deep dive into the couple that may just help us get to the other side of this pandemic.

Subscribe to Business Insider to read the full story.