Menalas Pangalos is a Greek scientist who leads research and development at pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca which, together with Oxford university, developed a vaccine for Covid-19. With efficacy rates up to 90%, the vaccine comfortably exceeds regulatory requirements for effectiveness in trials, giving a boost to the pandemic fight.
Science
When Dr Pangalos was growing up, his mother dreamed of making him a doctor. But he loved science. “My passion is for the way the human brain works.”
Born in London to Greek parents, Pangalos feels the importance of his Greek roots. Summers spent as a child in Chios, the place of origin of both his parents, were important constants in his life.
“In the last few years, we’ve seen positive changes in Greece’s research community. I’m heartened by more young people returning to Greece after studying or working abroad. Greek scientists contribute to the top 1% most cited papers in the world – such talent.”
Greeks and Turks leading the Covid fight
Meanwhile, Greek scientist Albert Bourla is the Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer, one of the world’s premier biopharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining Pfizer, he was a practicing Veterinarian in Greece. In November, Bourla rang Turkish German Ugur Sahin, founder and the chief executive of BioNTech.
“Are you sitting down?” the Pfizer chief asked him.
The trials of his company’s coronavirus vaccine showed 90% protection.
The results put the 55-year-old and his co-founder wife, Ozlem Tureci, at the forefront of the hunt for an effective vaccine. Global markets rallied, and stock soared for BioNTech. Sahin and Tureci celebrated with cups of Turkish tea at home, under lockdown.
The husband-and-wife team don’t own a car and took the morning off for their wedding day in 2002 before returning to the lab – “Half a day was sufficient.” Sahin and Tureci, both children of Turkish immigrants to Germany, met while working on an oncology ward in the city of Hamburg.
They decided to put their resources behind a coronavirus vaccine, and BioNTech approached Pfizer, with whom they had an existing relationship, working on influenza vaccines. Pfizer’s ‘yes’ led to investment of $185 million toward the vaccine development.
Sahin and Tureci are now billionaires, among the 100 richest Germans, according to the German paper Welt am Sonntag. Sahin cycles to work every day. “What’s life-changing is to impact something in the medical field.”
What about politics?
If Greeks and Turks can collaborate in science, why not in politics?
The former Consul General of Cyprus to the UK, Mr Yiannakis Koukoularides, used to lament the fact that Greek and Greek Cypriots in the UK have not stepped up into political office, like they have in the United States.
As a comparison, the Jewish community always achieves high eminence, through hard work and determination in all fields: science, academia, the arts and in politics. With a 300,000 strong Jewish community in the UK, they have 21 members of Parliament or Peers in the House of Lords. What about us Greeks? We number 500,000 in the UK and can manage only one MP and one Peer (Bambos Charalambous, MP for Enfield Southgate, and Lord Adonis).
But there are some green shoots of hope. Conservative candidate Jason Charalambous gave Labour’s Emily Thornberry a run for her money in Islington South & Finsbury. And 22-year-old Anton Georgiou finished third for the Liberal Democrats in Brent Central. Their chance will come again, I have no doubt. We need others.
Picture: Vaccine heroes – clockwise from top: Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci (BioNTech); Menalas Pangalos (AstraZeneca); Albert Bourla (Pfizer).
James Neophytou
