Moderna sues Pfizer and BioNTech for vaccine patent

Moderna sued Pfizer and BioNTech in US federal court and in Germany on Friday, alleging they infringed on its messenger RNA patents for the COVID vaccines.

Moderna accused the two firms of infringing on patents it filed between 2010 and 2016 by replicating its vaccination technology.

Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel claimed the company is suing to defend the mRNA technological platform it pioneered, invested billions in, and patented before the COVID-19 pandemic.

One complaint was filed in Massachusetts federal court and another in Düsseldorf.

Moderna committed not to enforce COVID-related patents in October 2020. “We feel a special obligation under the current circumstances to use our resources to bring this pandemic to an end as quickly as possible,” the business added.

Moderna modified its vow in March to limit it to 92 low- and middle-income nations, but stated it would defend its IP in other regions where vaccine supply was no longer limited.

Moderna said Friday it is not attempting to remove the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from the market due to pandemic demands, but the biotech business wants damages for the alleged infringement in non-pledged nations.

“We believe that Pfizer and BioNTech unlawfully copied Moderna’s inventions, and they have continued to use them without permission,” Moderna’s chief legal officer said.

Pfizer representatives told BuzzFeed News, “Pfizer/BioNTech has not yet fully reviewed the complaint but we are surprised by the litigation given the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine was based on BioNTech’s proprietary mRNA technology and developed by both BioNTech and Pfizer.”

“We remain confident in our intellectual property supporting the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and will vigorously defend against the allegations of the lawsuit,” they added.

BioNTech claimed online their “work is original, and we will vigorously defend against all allegations of patent infringement.”

mRNA COVID vaccines instruct human cells to generate coronavirus spike proteins, which sensitises the immune system to spikes and protects it from subsequent infection.

Moderna claims rivals copied a chemical change to vaccinations that prevents a negative immune reaction when mRNA is delivered into the body and a method for producing a full-length spike protein lipid nanoparticle formulation for a coronavirus.

When COVID struck, the business switched gears and began working with the US government to develop a vaccine. First Moderna vaccine clinical trials began on March 16, 2020, two months after the COVID-19 genetic sequence was disclosed.

Moderna stated Pfizer and BioNTech lacked mRNA experience when the pandemic began and investigated other vaccination approaches.

“Ultimately, however, Pfizer and BioNTech discarded those alternatives and copied Moderna’s patented technology,” the lawsuit says.

Moderna sold $17.7 billion in COVID vaccinations in 2021, while Pfizer sold $36.7 billion.

Moderna expected $19 billion in vaccine sales for 2022, whereas Pfizer estimated $32 billion.

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