German biotech firm CureVac has filed a lawsuit against Moderna in a Delaware federal court, claiming that Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax infringes on its patents related to messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.
In its complaint, CureVac alleges that Moderna copied its proprietary methods for stabilizing delicate mRNA used in vaccines and is seeking royalties based on sales of Spikevax as compensation.
Germany-based BioNTech which partnered with Pfizer to develop the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty acquired CureVac last year. Separately, BioNTech filed a U.S. patent lawsuit against Moderna in February, alleging infringement related to its next-generation mNEXSPIKE COVID-19 vaccine.
Moderna said in a statement that it is aware of the lawsuit filed on Friday and intends to defend itself. Representatives for CureVac and BioNTech did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The case is part of a broader wave of high-stakes patent disputes among biotech firms seeking royalties tied to technologies used in blockbuster COVID-19 vaccines. In 2022, Moderna filed its own patent infringement lawsuit against Pfizer and BioNTech over the vaccine Comirnaty, and that case is still ongoing.
Other major companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer, and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, have also filed patent lawsuits seeking a share of the tens of billions of dollars generated from COVID-19 vaccine sales.
CureVac alleged in its Friday lawsuit that Moderna infringed eight of its U.S. patents.
