Pfizer and BioNTech are accused of copying Moderna's technology to develop their vaccine.
Moderna said it filed lawsuits in the US and Germany because it believed the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine violated patented technology.
Pfizer and BioNTech were accused of copying another company's technology without permission to develop their own vaccine against the coronaviruses.
Four different vaccine candidates were taken into clinical testing, which included options that would have steered clear of Moderna's innovative path, according to the company.
Pfizer and BioNTech decided to go ahead with a vaccine that has the same exact chemical modification as Spikevax.
Moderna said it was the first company to test the technology in human trials five years later.
Despite having many different options, Pfizer and BioNTech copied Moderna's approach to coding for the full-length spike in a lipid nanoparticle for a coronaviruses. The approach was developed by moderna scientists when they created a vaccine for the coronaviruses.
Pfizer told Fortune that Moderna's lawsuit had been unforeseen.
The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine was developed by both Pfizer and BioNTech and they are surprised by the litigation.
We are confident in our intellectual property and will defend against the allegations of the lawsuit.
The CEO of Moderna said on Friday that the company was filing lawsuits to protect the innovative mRNA technology platform that they pioneered.
He said that Moderna was using its technology to develop medicines for infectious and non- communicable diseases.
Moderna promised not to enforce its COVID-19-related patents while the Pandemic persisted.
In March of this year, the company argued that the vaccine supply was no longer creating accessibility issues in many parts of the world because of the Pandemic.
Moderna said it wouldn't enforce patents in 92 low- and middle-income countries, but that it expected other companies to respect its intellectual property rights in other markets. If rival vaccine makers asked for licenses to use its technology, it would be willing to give them.
Moderna said it was not seeking to prevent the future sale of the vaccine or remove it from the market.
The company said that it would not seek damages from the U.S. government for sales to the 92 countries that are not covered by its patent pledge.
Moderna was seeking damages for sales that took place after March 8 2022, when the company changed its patent policy.
Fortune wanted to know how much Moderna was seeking in damages, but representatives for Moderna were not available.
The technology was only used for public use with the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines use technology that stimulates the immune system to fight the disease.
In Phase 3 clinical trials in 2020, both vaccines had an efficacy rate of around 95 percent. Both were designed to fight the original strain of the virus, but are not as effective against newer strains.
The dominant strains of the virus in the US are the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants.
Pfizer made $37 billion from the sale of its vaccine.
Moderna delivered 807 million vaccines in the year 2021.
Emergency Use Authorization was granted by the FDA for the Pfizer-bioNTech vaccine. Moderna's vaccine was approved a week later.
According to Our World in Data, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the most popular vaccine in the US.
According to an investigation by the New York Times, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is the most widely used vaccine in the world. According to The Times, Pfizer-BioNTech is the second most popular vaccine in the world.
If you sign up for the email list, you will be kept up to date with our biggest features, exclusive interviews, and investigations.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
