Moderna has filed lawsuits against Pfizer and BioNTech, accusing the pharmaceutical firms of copying its method to develop mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. 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.
The company claimed that 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, BioNTech Copied Two Key Features of Moderna's Patented Technologies
Moderna highlighted that Pfizer and BioNTech copied two key features of Moderna's patented technologies which are critical to the success of mRNA vaccines. When COVID-19 emerged, neither Pfizer nor BioNTech had Moderna's level of experience with developing mRNA vaccines for infectious diseases, and they knowingly followed Moderna's lead in developing their own vaccine.
Moderna Chief Legal Officer Shannon Thyme Klinger stated that the company believes that Pfizer and BioNTech unlawfully copied Moderna's inventions, and they have continued to use them without permission.
Moderna Expects Pfizer And BioNTech to Compensate Moderna
Klinger also underlined that outside of AMC 92 countries, where vaccine supply is no longer a barrier to access, Moderna expects Pfizer and BioNTech to compensate Moderna for Comirnaty®'s ongoing use of Moderna's patented technologies. "Our mission to create a new generation of transformative medicines for patients by delivering on the promise of mRNA science cannot be achieved without a patent system that rewards and protects innovation."
Moderna Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Bancel stated that the company is 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.
Bancel highlighted that the foundational platform, which the company began building in 2010, "along with its 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."
Moderna is using our mRNA technology platform to develop medicines that could treat and prevent infectious diseases like influenza and HIV, as well as autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases and rare forms of cancer, according to Bancel.
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