(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – Moderna said it is suing Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech for patent infringement linked to the development of the first Covid-19 vaccines.
The US biotech company is alleging that mRNA technology it developed before the pandemic was copied.
The lawsuit, which is seeking unspecified financial damages, was filed in the US and Germany.
Pfizer said it was “surprised” by the action and would “vigorously defend” itself against the allegations.
In a statement, Moderna said Pfizer/BioNTech copied two key elements of its intellectual property.
One involves a “chemical modification” which Moderna says its scientists were the first to demonstrate in human trials in 2015, and means the vaccine “avoids provoking an undesirable immune response”.
