Ingmar Hoerr

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]

Johnny Morris
Ingmar Hoerr at the TV-talkshow "Nachtcafe" of SWR
Born	1968 (age 54–55) Neckarsulm, Germany
Education	University of Tübingen
Occupation(s)	Founder and CEO of CureVac

Founder of CureVac (from left):Prof. H.G. Rammensee; Ingmar Hoerr; Steve Pascolo; Florian von der Mülben; Prof. G. Jung.

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.^[9][10]

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."^[11]

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,^[12] as did Die Zeit^[13] or Süddeutsche Zeitung^[14] and conducted interviews. There were appearances on popular German talk shows such as Lanz^[15] or Nachtcafe.^[16] International interest ranged from the French L'Express^[17] to the New York Times.^[18]

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.^[19]

Corporate career

In 2000, Hoerr, together with colleagues from the lab groups of Günther Jung and Hans-Georg Rammensee, founded the biopharmaceutical company CureVac.^[6]

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.^[20]

On 11 March 2020, Hoerr took over the position of CEO again at CureVac,^[21] replacing his interim successor Menichella.^[22] Later, Hoerr was replaced by Jean Stephenne as chairman of the supervisory board.

 

Receiving the Honorary Citizenship from the mayor of Tübingen, Boris Palmer.

In August 2020, Franz-Werner Haas replaced Hoerr as chief executive officer, after Hoerr suffered a severe health issue that March.^[23]

Recognition

 

Ingmar Hoerr sailing

• 2018 – Honorary Senator Universität Tübingen^[24]
• 2020 – Honorary Citizen of the City of Tübingen^[25]
• 2021 – Medal of Honor Medical Faculty Universität Duisburg-Essen^[26]
• 2021 − Meyer-Schwickerath-Preis der Stiftung Universitätsmedizin Essen für seine Grundlagenforschung zur Boten-Ribonukleinsäure^[27]
• 2021 – Max-Bergmann-Medaille für die Entwicklung der messenger-RNA- (mRNA)-Impfstoffe als neuartigem Wirkstoffprinzip^[28]
• 2021 – German Innovation Award, Innovator of the Year^[29]

Patents

• Günther Jung, Ingmar Hoerr, Hans-Georg Rammensee, Reinhard Obst: Transfer von mRNAs unter Verwendung von polykationischen Verbindungen. EP1083232. Erstveröffentlichung 9. September 1999, Patentinhaber: CureVac.
• Florian Von der Mülbe, Ingmar Hoerr, Steve Pascolo: Stabilisierte mRNA mit erhöhtem G/C-Gehalt und optimierter Codon Usage für die Gentherapie. WO2002098443. Erstveröffentlichung 12. Dezember 2002, Patentinhaber: CureVac.
• Ingmar Hoerr, Jochen Probst, Steve Pascolo: RNA-coded antibody. WO2008083949. Erstveröffentlichung 17. Juli 2008, Patentinhaber: CureVac.
• Ingmar Hoerr, Steve Pascolo: Optimierte Injektionsformulierung für mRNA. Veröffentlichungstag und Patenterteilung 19 June 2019, Europäische Patentschrift Nr EP 3 153 179 B1, Patentinhaber: CureVac.

Publications

• Hoerr I; Obst R; Rammensee HG; Jung G (1 January 2000). "In vivo application of RNA leads to induction of specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes and antibodies". European Journal of Immunology. 30 (1): 1–7. doi:10.1002/1521-4141(200001)30:1<1::AID-IMMU1>3.3.CO;2-R. ISSN 0014-2980. PMID 10602021. Wikidata Q33179322.
• Jochen Probst; Sonja Brechtel; Birgit Scheel; Ingmar Hoerr; Günther Jung; Hans-Georg Rammensee; Steve Pascolo (29 May 2006). "Characterization of the ribonuclease activity on the skin surface". Genetic Vaccines and Therapy. 4: 4. doi:10.1186/1479-0556-4-4. ISSN 1479-0556. PMC 1524753. PMID 16732888. S2CID 15324969. Wikidata Q34880734.

Literature

• Karberg, Sascha (2021). Der Mann, der das Impfen neu erfand Ingmar Hoerr, CureVac und der Kampf gegen die Pandemie (in German). Berlin: Aufbau. ISBN 978-3-351-03926-4. OCLC 1256538154.
• Klein, Wolfgang (2021). Die CureVac-Story Vom Risiko, die Medizin zu revolutionieren (in German). Frankfurt: Campus. ISBN 978-3-593-51490-1. OCLC 1241085997.

References

1. Miller, Joe (23 February 2021). "How vaccine laggard CureVac hopes to come out on top". Financial Times.
2. "EIC Ambassadors (2021 – 2027)". European Innovation Council. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
3. ""Wichtig ist ein Beruf, der Spaß macht"- NÜRTINGER ZEITUNG". www.ntz.de. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
4. https://www.pressreader.com/germany/hohenloher-tagblatt/20200619/281771336443544. Retrieved 27 July 2021 – via PressReader. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
5. "1 | Universität Tübingen". uni-tuebingen.de. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
6. "About CureVac". CureVac.
7. "Impfstoff-Erfindung: Wird Hoerrs Anteil negiert?". Schwäbisches Tagblatt (in German). Retrieved 27 July 2021.
8. "Entwicklung der RNA-Technologie: Man konnte es einfach spritzen". Schwäbisches Tagblatt (in German). Retrieved 27 July 2021.
9. Benjamin Weide; Jean-Philippe Carralot; Anne Reese; et al. (1 February 2008). "Results of the first phase I/II clinical vaccination trial with direct injection of mRNA". Journal of Immunotherapy. 31 (2): 180–188. doi:10.1097/CJI.0B013E31815CE501. ISSN 1524-9557. PMID 18481387. S2CID 8233422. Wikidata Q33334868.
10. Benjamin Weide; Steve Pascolo; Birgit Scheel; et al. (1 June 2009). "Direct injection of protamine-protected mRNA: results of a phase 1/2 vaccination trial in metastatic melanoma patients". Journal of Immunotherapy. 32 (5): 498–507. doi:10.1097/CJI.0B013E3181A00068. ISSN 1524-9557. PMID 19609242. S2CID 3278811. Wikidata Q53383265.
11. "Bill Gates im Interview: "mRNA ist nicht die einzige Plattform, die während der Pandemie Quantensprünge vollzogen hat"". www.handelsblatt.com (in German). Retrieved 27 July 2021.
12. SPIEGEL, Markus Feldenkirchen, DER (26 May 2021). "mRNA-Pionier Ingmar Hoerr im »Spitzengespräch«". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 27 July 2021.
13. "Eine Milliarde Dosen für die Welt". www.zeit.de. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
14. Dostert, Elisabeth. "Curevac-Gründer Ingmar Hoerr: Die Genesung". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 27 July 2021.
15. "Markus Lanz vom 13. Januar 2021". www.zdf.de (in German). Retrieved 27 July 2021.
16. ""NACHTCAFÉ: Wofür es sich zu kämpfen lohnt"". swr.online (in German). Retrieved 27 July 2021.
17. "Ingmar Hoerr, cofondateur de CureVac : "Notre vaccin sera moins cher et plus accessible"". LExpress.fr (in French). 12 March 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
18. Zimmer, Carl (5 May 2021). "This New Covid Vaccine Could Bring Hope to the Unvaccinated World". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
19. Germany, Stuttgarter Zeitung, Stuttgart. "Morpho Foundation: "Wir wollen etwas zurückgeben"". stuttgarter-zeitung.de (in German). Retrieved 20 November 2021.
20. "Jean Stéphenne (CureVac): "Les essais du vaccin anti-Covid-19 vont débuter en juin en Allemagne et en Belgique"". www.lecho.be.
21. "Company Founder Ingmar Hoerr Succeeds Daniel Menichella as CEO of CureVac AG | English". CureVac. 11 March 2020.
22. Oltermann, Philip (15 March 2020). "Trump 'offers large sums' for exclusive US access to coronavirus vaccine" – via www.theguardian.com.
23. "CureVac Appoints Dr. Franz-Werner Haas as Chief Executive Officer and Dr. Igor Splawski as Chief Scientific Officer". CureVac. 4 August 2020.
24. "1 | University of Tübingen". uni-tuebingen.de. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
25. Aktuell, S. W. R. "Curevac-Gründer Hörr wird Ehrenbürger". swr.online (in German). Retrieved 27 July 2021.
26. "Auszeichnungen für Impfstoff-Pionier". DGFI (in German). 3 May 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
27. "Meldungen aus der UDE". www.uni-due.de. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
28. "NewsFullview-attempto | Universität Tübingen". uni-tuebingen.de. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
29. Stölzel, Thomas. "Deutscher Innovationspreis 2021: Drohnen, Gold, dazu Automatisierung und mRNA". www.wiwo.de (in German). Retrieved 27 July 2021.