American pharmaceutical company Moderna has filed a lawsuit against Pfizer and BioNTech, accusing them of using its technology in the development of the coronavirus vaccine. The company says this is to protect the mRNA technology platform it invented, invested billions of dollars in and patented long before the pandemic.
“We believe that Pfizer and BioNTech have illegally copied Moderna’s inventions and continue to use them without our permission,” said Moderna attorney Shannon Clinger.
Moderna is seeking monetary damages, but the lawsuit does not specify an amount. The lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts and in Germany, where BioNTech is headquartered. In the company Pfizer, commenting on the lawsuit by Moderna, they stated that they are surprised and ready to defend themselves in court.
Moderna, founded in 2010, was the first developer of the mRNA technology used commercially in coronavirus vaccines. The essence of this technology is that vaccines contain a fragment of the virus’ genetic code that triggers the body’s immune response. When exposed to the actual virus, the same immune response is triggered.
At the outset of the pandemic, Moderna stated that it would not file patent lawsuits to allow other companies to develop their own vaccines, especially in developing countries. However, in March 2022, the company changed its position and stated that its competitors, in particular Pfizer and BioNTech, should respect its intellectual property rights. At the same time, the company agreed not to sue for any infringement that may have occurred in the past.
Patent disputes are not uncommon in the world of new technologies, and Moderna itself has faced claims regarding its mRNA technology – the U.S. government, represented by the National Institutes of Health, filed a lawsuit against the company. Pfizer and BioNTech have also been sued over their use of the technology. In July, the German company Curevac filed a patent lawsuit alleging that BioNTech infringed on a number of patents related to the development of mRNA technology.