Pfizer/biontech Sued By Moderna For Patent Infringement Over Covid Vaccine

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech are being sued by Moderna for patent infringement in the development of the first COVID-19 vaccine approved in the US, alleging they copied technology that Moderna developed years before the pandemic began.

Before the bell, Pfizer shares fell 1.4%, while BioNTech shares fell about 2%.

A news release from Moderna on Friday stated that the lawsuit, which seeks undetermined monetary damages, was filed in US District Court in Massachusetts and the Regional Court of Düsseldorf in Germany.

In a statement, Moderna Chief Executive Stephane Bancel said, "these lawsuits are intended to protect the mRNA technology platform that we pioneered, created and patented during the decade preceding COVID-19."

Among the first groups to develop a vaccine for the novel Coronavirus were Moderna Inc and the partnership between Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE.

As a pioneer in messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine technology, Moderna, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, enabled the development of the COVID-19 vaccine at an unprecedented speed.

The breakthrough in mRNA vaccines, which teach human cells to make a protein that triggers an immune response, enabled the approval process to be completed in months rather than years.

Earlier this year, Germany-based BioNTech partnered with US pharma giant Pfizer to work in this field.

Initially, Pfizer/BioNTech was granted emergency use authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020, and then Moderna one week later.

Pfizer's vaccine brought in about $22 billion in revenue this year, while Moderna's COVID vaccine brought in $10.4 billion.

According to Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, without its permission, copied mRNA technology that Moderna had patented between 2010 and 2016, well before COVID-19 became widely known in 2019.

In the early stages of the pandemic, Moderna announced it would not enforce its COVID-19 patents in order to help others develop their own vaccines, particularly for low- and middle-income countries. But in March 2022 Moderna said it expected companies such as Pfizer and BioNTech to respect its intellectual property rights. It said it would not seek damages for any activity before March 8, 2022.

In the early stages of a new technology, patent litigation is not uncommon.

Multiple lawsuits have already been filed against Pfizer and BioNTech, alleging that the partnership's vaccine infringes on their patents. Pfizer/BioNTech have said they will defend their patents vigorously.

A lawsuit was also filed against BioNTech in Germany in July by CureVac. BioNTech responded in a statement that its work was original.

Additionally, Moderna has been sued for patent infringement in the United States and is in dispute with the US National Institutes of Health regarding mRNA technology rights.

Moderna said Pfizer/BioNTech appropriated two types of intellectual property on Friday.

Moderna says its scientists developed an mRNA structure in 2010 and validated it in human trials for the first time in 2015.

Pfizer and BioNTech tested four different vaccine candidates, which included options that avoided Moderna's innovative path. Pfizer and BioNTech, however, ultimately decided to proceed with a vaccine that has the same exact mRNA chemical modification to its vaccine,” Moderna said in its statement.

Moderna says its scientists developed a full-length spike protein while developing a vaccine for Coronavirus, which causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

The MERS vaccine was never commercialized, but its development helped Moderna quickly launch its COVID-19 vaccine.

According to Pfizer, the company has not been served and is unable to comment at this time.

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