Moderna sues Pfizer, BioNTech for Covid-19 vaccine patent infringement

A furious stoush has broken out between Pfizer and Moderna, two of the biggest Covid jab makers, which could see billions of dollars change hands.

Drug company Moderna has announced it is suing rival vaccine makers Pfizer and BioNTech, alleging the two partners infringed on its patents in developing their Covid-19 jab administered to hundreds of millions around the world.

The lawsuits set up a high-stakes showdown between the leading manufacturers of Covid-19 vaccines that are a key tool in the fight against the virus that has ravaged the globe.

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

Pfizer is based in the US, like Moderna, while BioNTech is a German firm. The joint Pfizer-BioNTech shot is officially called ‘Comirnaty”.

Moderna said on August 26, 2022, it is suing rival vaccine makers Pfizer and BioNTech, alleging the partners infringed on its patents in developing their shot for Covid-19. Picture: Joseph Prezioso / AFP.

The patent infringement lawsuits were filed in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the Regional Court of Dusseldorf in Germany, according to a statement released by the biotech firm on Friday.

“Moderna believes that Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine Comirnaty infringes patents Moderna filed between 2010 and 2016 covering Moderna’s foundational mRNA technology,” it read.

“This groundbreaking technology was critical to the development of Moderna’s own mRNA Covid-19 vaccine, Spikevax. Pfizer and BioNTech copied this technology, without Moderna’s permission, to make Comirnaty.”

Pfizer said it has not received the lawsuit and declined to comment further, while BioNTech did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

“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,” Moderna’s chief executive Stéphane Bancel, said.

“This foundational platform, which we began building in 2010, along with our patented work on coronaviruses in 2015 and 2016, enabled us to produce a safe and highly effective Covid-19 vaccine in record time after the pandemic struck.”

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

The lawsuits are not seeking the removal of the rival vaccine from the market or an injunction on future sales, according to a statement from Moderna. The company is instead seeking compensation from Pfizer and BioNTech for using two key features of its mRNA technology, it added.

Moderna said it had begun building up the technology in 2010 and patented work on coronaviruses in 2015 and 2016, which allowed for rollout of its shots in “record time” after the pandemic struck.

"Moderna believes that Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine Comirnaty infringes patents Moderna filed between 2010 and 2016 covering Moderna's foundational mRNA technology," it said in a statement. Picture: Frederic J. Brown / AFP.

The mRNA technology used in the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech inoculations differs from that in traditional vaccines, which rely on injecting weakened or dead forms of a virus to allow the immune system to recognise it and build antibodies.

Instead, mRNA vaccines deliver instructions to cells to build a harmless piece of the spike protein found on the surface of the virus that causes Covid-19.

After creating this spike protein, cells can recognise and fight the real virus, hailed as a major advancement in development of vaccines.

Key tool against deadly pandemic

The shots have repeatedly been the subject of false claims that they are dangerous, but health authorities say they are both safe and effective.

The virus has killed at least 6.48 million people worldwide since 2020 and made nearly 600 million ill, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker.

In addition to death and suffering, the disease has led to a reshaping of life ranging from a change in norms on working from home to a scrambling of supply chains and workforces.

Moderna said it pledged in October 2020 not to enforce its Covid-19-related patents while the pandemic continued, but less than two years later changed that stance as the fight shifted gears.

“Moderna expected companies such as Pfizer and BioNTech to respect its intellectual property rights and would consider a commercially reasonable license should they request one for other markets,” it said.

“Pfizer and BioNTech have failed to do so,” the firm added.

These types of lawsuits are not unheard of in the pharmaceutical industry, where patents can be worth billions of dollars, and can take years to resolve.

– With AFP