Moderna is suing Pfizer and BioNTech for infringing patents central to Moderna's mRNA technology platform used to develop the COVID vaccine, the company said in a press release Friday.
A widely distributed COVID vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, called Comirnaty, infringes on patents Moderna filed between 2010 and 2016, the company alleged, adding that mRNA technology was vital to the development of its COVID vaccine.
The Moderna headquarters, Nov. 30, 2020, in Cambridge, Mass.
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Moderna accused Pfizer and BioNTech of copying the mRNA technology without its permission in order to develop Comirnaty, the press release said.
"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," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement."
A medical workers holds a vial of the new Moderna Covid-19 vaccine before filling syringes with it in Needham, Mass., June 21, 2022.
Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
"This foundational platform, which we began building in 2010, along with our patented work on coronaviruses in 2015 and 2016, enabled us to produce a safe and highly effective COVID-19 vaccine in record time after the pandemic struck," he added. "As we work to combat health challenges moving forward, Moderna is using our mRNA technology platform to develop medicines that could treat and prevent infectious diseases like influenza and HIV, as well as autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases and rare forms of cancer."
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
