Moderna sues Pfizer, Biontech over patents

Alleges ‘ongoing use’ of its tech in COVID vaccines

Moderna is suing Pfizer in both the U.S. and Germany for allegedly copying its COVID vaccine technology.

U.s.-based Moderna is seeking compensation from Pfizer and its German partner Biontech for what it claims is the continued infringements of patents in Pfizer and Biontech’s jointly developed vaccines.

It comes after Curevac also filed a lawsuit against the two companies last month for allegedly copying vaccine technology.

Moderna claims the Pfizer jab infringes upon its patented MRNA technology, which it has been developing since 2010.

The technology involves packaging up the genetic code of a pathogen inside a lipid shell, which can then be injected into a person. Once inside, the code teaches human cells to make antibodies against the invader.

Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel said: “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 pandemic.”

The company will not seek reparations for the use of the Pfizer jab pre-march 2022 due to the global emergency and will also not push the issue in the 92 poorer nations that form COVAX. It is not seeking the removal of Pfizer’s product from the market.

However, Moderna’s lawyers said Friday that the company now expects compensation from Pfizer and Biontech for the “ongoing use” of its technology.

The crux of the issue revolves around two particular alleged patent infringements that make the vaccines functional and safe. Moderna alleges that Pfizer “knowingly followed Moderna’s lead in developing their own vaccine.”

The U.S. company says Pfizer and Biontech “decided to proceed with a vaccine that has the same exact MRNA chemical modification to its vaccine as Spikevax.” Moderna says it started work on this concoction in 2010 and proved its effectiveness in a trial as far ago as 2015. Pfizer said the company was confident in its intellectual property and would vigorously defend against the allegations.

“We are surprised by the litigation given the COVID-19 vaccine was based on Biontech’s proprietary MRNA technology and developed by both Biontech and Pfizer,” a Pfizer spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Biontech called the lawsuit “unfortunate” and declared its work was original.

“We will vigorously defend against all allegations of patent infringement,” the company said in a statement.

Just a decade old, Moderna, based in Cambridge, Mass., had been an innovator in the messenger RNA (MRNA) vaccine technology that enabled the unprecedented speed in developing the COVID-19 vaccine.