By Blake Brittain April 24 (Reuters) - German biotech company CureVac sued Moderna in Delaware federal court on Friday, alleging that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax infringed CureVac patents
CureVac Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Moderna Over COVID-19 Vaccine
Overview of the CureVac vs. Moderna Patent Dispute
By Blake Brittain
Details of the Lawsuit
April 24 (Reuters) - German biotech company CureVac sued Moderna in Delaware federal court on Friday, alleging that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax infringed CureVac patents related to messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.
CureVac said in the lawsuit that Moderna copied its technology for stabilizing fragile mRNA to use in vaccines and requested royalties from Moderna's Spikevax sales in damages.
Related Legal Actions and Industry Context
Germany-based BioNTech -- which partnered with Pfizer to create the competing COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty -- acquired CureVac last year. BioNTech filed a separate U.S. patent lawsuit against Moderna over its next-generation mNEXSPIKE COVID-19 shot in February.
Responses from Involved Parties
Moderna said in a statement that it was aware of the lawsuit filed on Friday and will defend itself. Spokespeople for CureVac and BioNTech did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
Broader Patent Litigation in the COVID-19 Vaccine Market
The case is part of a wave of high-stakes patent lawsuits from biotech companies seeking royalties for the technology used in blockbuster COVID-19 vaccines. Moderna sued Pfizer and BioNTech for patent infringement over Comirnaty in 2022, in a lawsuit that is ongoing.
Companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals have also filed patent lawsuits seeking shares of the companies' tens of billions of dollars of revenue from COVID-19 vaccine sales.
Specifics of the CureVac Allegations
CureVac's Friday lawsuit accused Moderna of infringing eight of its U.S. patents.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Edward Tobin)
