Moderna sues Pfizer over ‘patent Infringement’
Moderna sues Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE!
Moderna says rivals copied its methods for encoding genetic material and used the same chemical modification in their Covid-19 vaccine!
Moderna filed a lawsuit in a U.S. federal court in Massachusetts. A lawsuit was also filed in the Regional Court of Düsseldorf in Germany, according to Moderna.
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Biotech: Moderna sues Pfizer & BioNTech over ‘patent Infringement’
Moderna Inc. sued rival Covid-19 vaccine makers Pfizer Inc. & BioNTech SE, alleging that the companies’ shot infringes on key intellectual property owned by Moderna, @politico reportedhttps://t.co/1spKPmKNNL— The_Journalbiz (@the_journalbiz) August 30, 2022
Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine rely on messenger RNA technology that Moderna had developed and patented years ago, Including a chemical modification that avoids prompting an undesirable immune response, Moderna said in lawsuits filed Friday.
- Moderna Inc. sued rival Covid-19 vaccine makers Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, alleging that the companies’ shot infringes on key intellectual property owned by Moderna.
“We are filing these lawsuits to protect the innovative mRNA technology platform that we pioneered, invested billions of dollars in creating, and patented during the decade preceding the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Moderna Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel.
Pfizer and BioNTech said that their vaccine is based on original and proprietary technology created by BioNTech and that they would vigorously defend against Moderna’s allegations.
Moderna said it isn’t seeking an injunction to force Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine off the market, but is asking the court to award damages based on vaccine sales after early March when it said it expected vaccine makers in rich countries to license its patents for use in their Covid-19 vaccines.
Moderna also said it won’t seek damages on certain sales governed by a U.S. law allowing federal contractors to use patent-protected technology without permission.
The law also requires patent owners to seek compensation for use of their intellectual property from the government rather than the contractor.
MRNA, which has generated tens of billions of dollars in sales for Covid-19-vaccine makers, promises to ring up even more as Moderna, Pfizer and other firms move to apply it to non-pandemic diseases.
