Katalin Karikó

In 1999, doctoral student Ingmar Hoerr accidentally discovers revolutionary mRNA vaccine technology at the University of Tübingen, Germany—the same technology that would later protect millions from Covid-19. Despite initial ridicule from Nobel laureates and experts, Hoerr perseveres and founds his own company to develop the first vaccine based on mRNA technology. With the Covid-19 pandemic emerging in 2020, everything changes. Suddenly, governments and people around the world pin their hopes on the technology he invented, believing it could save the world. But when Hoerr is called to Berlin by the German government, fate intervenes and his focus shifts from saving humanity to saving himself.

The Messenger documentary film is revealing a fascinating story of mRNA technology applied in the recent Covid-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer/ BioNTech and Moderna. Unaware of the upcoming pandemic 2020, researchers were initally looking for the best gene therapy methods to fight cancer, AIDS and other deadly diseases.

An in-depth look at the race to develop, manufacture and distribute a vaccine for Covid-19 - which may be the most monumental scientific achievement in modern history. Interviews with some of the main players take you inside the real-life drama as it unfolded.

Covid-19 first brought it to public attention, but messenger RNA was discovered sixty years earlier. Through the many trials and pitfalls of its pioneering researchers and developers, this documentary tells the fascinating story of a medical revolution.