Moderna sues Pfizer, BioNTech over mRNA vaccine technology

BOSTON • Moderna said yesterday it is suing Pfizer and BioNTech, claiming the technology in their Covid-19 shot infringes on its patents, setting the stage for a massive legal clash between the vaccine titans.

Moderna accused Pfizer and BioNTech of violating intellectual property rights on key elements of Moderna's messenger RNA technology in developing the Comirnaty vaccine.

The biotech firm, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said it had patents from 2010 to 2016 on the mRNA technology that made its Spikevax shot possible, but that the other two companies copied the technology without permission.

Pfizer and BioNTech "took four different candidates into clinical testing, including options that would have steered clear of Moderna's innovative path by using unmodified mRNA", according to a lawsuit filed yesterday in the United States District Court in Massachusetts.

"Ultimately, however, Pfizer and BioNTech discarded those alternatives and copied Moderna's patented technology."

Moderna said it is also filing suit in Germany. That complaint could not immediately be verified.

Pfizer said it has not been served with a lawsuit and could not comment. Representatives for BioNTech did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Moderna said it is not asking the courts to pull the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine from the market nor block future sales. The company is seeking damages for the period starting March 8 of this year and says it will not seek damages for Pfizer's sales to 92 lower-and middle-income countries.

Early in the Covid-19 crisis, Moderna promised not to enforce its intellectual property during the pandemic, but on March 7, it modified that pledge to apply only to lower-income countries, essentially making this litigation possible.

Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel said in a statement: "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."

The mRNA vaccines have played a crucial role in pandemic response, particularly in the US.

Last year, Pfizer recorded almost US$37 billion (S$51 billion) in sales from Comirnaty, while Moderna posted roughly US$18 billion of revenue from Spikevax.

Intellectual property battles over technology used in both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are proliferating.

Earlier this year, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals sued Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech over the lipid nanoparticle technology used in both of their Covid-19 vaccines.

BLOOMBERG