Ingmar Hoerr Explained

Ingmar Hoerr
Birth Place:Neckarsulm, Germany
Education:University of Tübingen
Occupation:Founder and CEO of CureVac

Ingmar Malte Hoerr (born 1968 in Neckarsulm) is a German biologist. He pioneered vaccinology research concerning the use of RNA and is a founder of the German biotechnology company CureVac. He created the initial technology used in RNA vaccines and has reportedly been nominated for a Nobel Prize.[1] He is currently an Ambassador for the European Innovation Council for the years 2021–2027.[2]

Early life and education

Hoerr graduated from the Johannes-Kepler-Realschule in Wendlingen am Neckar in 1985 [3] and then attended an agricultural high school in Nürtingen, where he obtained his Abitur in 1988.[4] From 1988 to 1990, he performed civilian service at the DRK Nürtingen as a paramedic. From 1990 to 1996 he studied biology at the University of Tübingen. During his studies, he spent a year at Madurai Kamaraj University, India.[5]

Career

Career in academia

Hoerr did experimental research on the stabilization of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA). In 1999, he received his PhD from Günther Jung, Institute of Organic Chemistry, in cooperation with Hans-Georg Rammensee, Institute of Immunology and Cell Biology (both: University of Tübingen) on the topic of RNA vaccines for the induction of specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and antibodies. In 2000, Hoerr published his doctoral thesis entitled "RNA vaccine for the induction of specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) and antibodies." In his thesis, Hoerr discovered that ribonucleic acid can be stabilized. This discovery made it easy to use ribonucleic acid for the development of vaccines and immunotherapies.[6]

The dissertation investigated the development of RNA vaccines that will play a central role in the fight against COVID-19 starting in 2020.[7] At the time, he vaccinated laboratory mice with an RNA construct and showed that such a vaccine does not immediately decay, as previously thought. Rather, stabilized RNA stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies and activate T cells that destroy pathogens.[8] As early as 9 September 1999, Hoerr applied for a first patent for the new technology. In 2008 and 2009, the first clinical trials for the use of mRNA as a cancer vaccine were already underway.

Bill Gates, whose foundation invested in CureVac, rated Hoerr's pioneering work as groundbreaking in an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt: "The first mRNA vaccines,developed by Pfizer-Biontech and Moderna in 2020, are the product of a multitude of ideas and discoveries by German scientist Ingmar Hoerr, who spent twenty years experimenting with messenger RNA."[9]

As the success of the m-RNA vaccines grew, so did media interest in Hoerr. Der Spiegel ranked him among the pioneers of m-RNA vaccines,[10] as did Die Zeit[11] or Süddeutsche Zeitung[12] and conducted interviews. There were appearances on popular German talk shows such as Lanz[13] or Nachtcafe.[14] International interest ranged from the French L'Express[15] to the New York Times.[16]

In May 2021, Ingmar Hoerr and Florian von der Mülbe, together with their partners, Sara Hörr and Kiriakoula Kapousouzi, founded the Morpho Foundation, a foundation for the promotion of culture and health projects.[17]

Corporate career

In 2000, Hoerr, together with colleagues from the lab groups of Günther Jung and Hans-Georg Rammensee, founded the biopharmaceutical company CureVac.

In 2018, Hoerr gave up his office as chairman of the board and changed – as Chairman – to the supervisory board. Daniel L. Menichella was hired in that position in order to develop R&D and plants in the U.S., but the board changed its mind in 2020 and fired Menichella.[18]

On 11 March 2020, Hoerr took over the position of CEO again at CureVac,[19] replacing his interim successor Menichella.[20] Later, Hoerr was replaced by Jean Stephenne as chairman of the supervisory board.In August 2020, Franz-Werner Haas replaced Hoerr as chief executive officer, after Hoerr suffered a severe health issue that March.[21]

Recognition

Patents

Publications

Literature

Notes and References

  1. News: How vaccine laggard CureVac hopes to come out on top. Financial Times. 23 February 2021. Miller. Joe.
  2. Web site: EIC Ambassadors (2021 – 2027) . 31 July 2022 . European Innovation Council.
  3. Web site: "Wichtig ist ein Beruf, der Spaß macht"- NÜRTINGER ZEITUNG. 27 July 2021. www.ntz.de. en.
  4. Web site: 27 July 2021. PressReader.
  5. Web site: 1 Universität Tübingen. 27 July 2021. uni-tuebingen.de.
  6. Web site: About CureVac. CureVac.
  7. Web site: Impfstoff-Erfindung: Wird Hoerrs Anteil negiert?. 27 July 2021. Schwäbisches Tagblatt. de.
  8. Web site: Entwicklung der RNA-Technologie: Man konnte es einfach spritzen. 27 July 2021. Schwäbisches Tagblatt. de.
  9. Web site: Bill Gates im Interview: "mRNA ist nicht die einzige Plattform, die während der Pandemie Quantensprünge vollzogen hat". 27 July 2021. www.handelsblatt.com. de.
  10. News: SPIEGEL. Markus Feldenkirchen, DER. mRNA-Pionier Ingmar Hoerr im »Spitzengespräch«. 27 July 2021. Der Spiegel. 26 May 2021. de.
  11. News: Eine Milliarde Dosen für die Welt . 27 July 2021. Die Zeit. 7 May 2021 . Bahnsen . Ulrich . Grabar . Edda .
  12. Web site: Dostert. Elisabeth. Curevac-Gründer Ingmar Hoerr: Die Genesung. 27 July 2021. Süddeutsche.de. 23 December 2020 . de.
  13. Web site: Markus Lanz vom 13. Januar 2021. 27 July 2021. www.zdf.de. de.
  14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzh9ZNNjQLQ NACHTCAFÉ: Wofür es sich zu kämpfen lohnt
  15. Web site: 12 March 2021. Ingmar Hoerr, cofondateur de CureVac : "Notre vaccin sera moins cher et plus accessible". 27 July 2021. LExpress.fr. fr.
  16. News: Zimmer. Carl. 5 May 2021. This New Covid Vaccine Could Bring Hope to the Unvaccinated World. en-US. The New York Times. 27 July 2021. 0362-4331.
  17. Web site: Germany. Stuttgarter Zeitung, Stuttgart. Morpho Foundation: "Wir wollen etwas zurückgeben". 20 November 2021. stuttgarter-zeitung.de. de.
  18. Web site: Jean Stéphenne (CureVac): "Les essais du vaccin anti-Covid-19 vont débuter en juin en Allemagne et en Belgique". www.lecho.be.
  19. Web site: Company Founder Ingmar Hoerr Succeeds Daniel Menichella as CEO of CureVac AG | English. CureVac. 11 March 2020.
  20. News: Trump 'offers large sums' for exclusive US access to coronavirus vaccine. Philip. Oltermann. The Guardian . 15 March 2020. www.theguardian.com.
  21. Web site: CureVac Appoints Dr. Franz-Werner Haas as Chief Executive Officer and Dr. Igor Splawski as Chief Scientific Officer. CureVac. 4 August 2020.
  22. Web site: 1 University of Tübingen. 27 July 2021. uni-tuebingen.de.
  23. Web site: Aktuell. S. W. R.. Curevac-Gründer Hörr wird Ehrenbürger. 27 July 2021. swr.online. de.
  24. Web site: 3 May 2021. Auszeichnungen für Impfstoff-Pionier. 27 July 2021. DGFI. de-DE.
  25. Web site: Meldungen aus der UDE. 27 July 2021. www.uni-due.de.
  26. Web site: NewsFullview-attempto Universität Tübingen. 27 July 2021. uni-tuebingen.de.
  27. Web site: Stölzel. Thomas. Deutscher Innovationspreis 2021: Drohnen, Gold, dazu Automatisierung und mRNA. 27 July 2021. www.wiwo.de. 25 June 2021 . de.

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