Pfizer and BioNTech Sued by Moderna Over COVID-19 Vaccines

August 26, 2022August 26, 2022 Editor

“We believe that Pfizer and BioNTech unlawfully copied Moderna’s inventions,” said Moderna Chief Legal Officer Shannon Thyme Klinger

Moderna is suing Pfizer and BioNTech over allegations that the biopharmaceutical companies copied their mRNA technology in COVID-19 vaccines without permission.

In a news release Friday, the Cambridge, Massachusetts company stated they plan to file patent infringement lawsuits against Pfizer in the United States District Court of Massachusetts and their German partner BioNTech in the Regional Court of Düsseldorf in Germany.

“We believe that Pfizer and BioNTech unlawfully copied Moderna’s inventions, and they have continued to use them without permission,” said Moderna Chief Legal Officer Shannon Thyme Klinger.

Klinger went on to explain that Moderna anticipates Pfizer and BioNTech compensating the company for what he says are patented technologies. He claims that a patent-protected system “rewards and preserves invention.”

“Pfizer/BioNTech has not yet fully read the complaint, but we are surprised by the litigation given the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine was based on BioNTech’s unique mRNA technology and developed by both BioNTech and Pfizer,” Pfizer said in a statement.

“We remain confident in our intellectual property backing the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and will vigorously defend ourselves against the lawsuit’s allegations,” they added.
Moderna said they do not intend on removing the Pfizer vaccine, called Comirnaty, from the market, acknowledging that everyone needs access to these life-saving vaccines, but alleges Pfizer and BioNTech copied two key features of the company’s patented technologies to develop their own.

“We are filing these lawsuits to protect the innovative mRNA technology platform that we pioneers, invested billions of dollars in creating, and patented during the decade preceding the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Moderna Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Bancel.