Moderna sues Pfizer / BioNTech for alleged patent infringement on COVID vaccine | Science & Technology News

Moderna is suing Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech for alleged patent infringement in the development of the first approved COVID-19 vaccine in the US.

The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified monetary damages, alleges they copied the technology Moderna developed years before the pandemic.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said: “We are filing these lawsuits to defend the innovative mRNA technology platform that we pioneered, invested billions of dollars in creating and patented during the decade before the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Bancel said the company is continuing to use the technology to develop treatments for influenza and HIV, as well as for autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular disease and rare forms of cancer.

“We believe that Pfizer and BioNTech have illegally copied Moderna’s inventions and that they have continued to use them without permission,” added Moderna Chief Legal Officer Shannon Thyme Klinger.

Moderna Inc and the partnership of Pfizer Inc and BioNTech are two of the first groups to develop vaccines for COVID.

In just a decade, Moderna has been an innovator in messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine technology, which works by teaching human cells how to make a protein that triggers an immune response.

This technology has helped speed up the approval process for shots – which often take years to complete – and has allowed vaccines to be developed just as quickly.

Germany-based BioNTech has also been active in this area, partnering with US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.

The US Food and Drug Administration approved the emergency use of its first partner vaccine in December 2020 – giving Moderna’s jab the green light a week later.

Moderna alleges Pfizer/BioNTech, without permission, copied the mRNA technology it patented between 2010 and 2016, before COVID-19 emerged in 2019.

Early in the pandemic, Moderna said it would not enforce its COVID patents to help others develop their own vaccines, but in March of this year it told companies, such as Pfizer and BioNTech, that they expect them to respect their intellectual property rights.

In terms of revenue, Moderna’s vaccine has brought in $10.4bn (£8.8bn) this year, while Pfizer has raised around $22bn (£18.6bn).

Pfizer / BioNTech ‘appropriating two types of intellectual property’

In a statement released Friday, Moderna said Pfizer/BioNTech had misappropriated two types of intellectual property, one related to the mRNA structure and the other to the coding of a full-length mutant protein. .

“Pfizer and BioNTech have entered four different vaccine candidates into clinical trials, including options that will have
clear direction on Moderna’s path of innovation,” the statement read.

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“However, Pfizer and BioNTech ultimately decided to proceed with the production of a vaccine that chemically modifies the exact same mRNA as its vaccine.”

Pfizer and BioNTech have faced numerous lawsuits from other companies who say the partnership violates
about their patents, but both said they would defend their patents vigorously.

Pfizer said the company has not been served and it cannot comment at this time.