As the salad days of pandemic vaccine sales wane, two mRNA camps are taking a legal stand on the global stage—and duking it out in the name of drug delivery.
In response to an August lawsuit from Moderna alleging patent infringement related to its COVID-19 vaccine technology, Pfizer and BioNTech have hit back with a countersuit, demanding a jury trial and refuting Moderna’s claims of infringement.
In Moderna’s original suit, the company accused Pfizer and BioNTech of stepping on Moderna’s patents filed between 2010 and 2016 and sought to “protect” its innovative mRNA technology that it “pioneered, invested billions of dollars into creating, and patented” during the decade proceeding the pandemic, CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement at the time.
Pfizer and BioNTech denied each of Moderna’s claims, noting that Moderna is stretching its “already overbroad” and arguably “invalid” patents and is trying to “claim credit for others’ work.” The companies argue that Moderna, in its original lawsuit, tried to rewrite the well-known story of the COVID-19 pandemic to put itself in the “single, starring role” by ignoring the contributions of other players, including scientists at Pfizer and the National Institute of Health (NIH).
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Article URL : https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/moderna-vs-pfizer-lawsuit-heats-pfizer-and-biontech-clap-back-countersuit