London’s High Court on Tuesday ruled that one of Moderna’s trademarks relating to tech code to the development of vaccines for COVID-19 was illegitimate, but that another was true and had been infringed by Pfizer and BioNTech’s foe vaccination.
In a lawsuit brought by Pfizer and its European partner BioNTech in September 2022, Moderna and its partners in Germany filed a lawsuit in London’s High Court to rescind two patents held by the company. The latter filed a lawsuit days afterwards, alleging that its patents had been violated.
The High Court determined that one of Moderna’s two patents, which involved messenger RNA ( mRNA ) technology, was invalid but that another similar patent was applicable and that Comirnaty vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech had violated it.
Tuesday’s decision is the latest in a world legal challenge, with horizontal trials in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United States, as well as in Ireland and at the European Patent Office.
In a speech, Pfizer and BioNTech stated in a statement that they were pleased that one Moderna invention had been overturned, but that they disagreed with the other’s ruling, and that they would file an appeal.
The two businesses asserted that” These trials have no bearing on the safety and efficacy account of our immunization, as established by officials worldwide.
We will continue to produce and offer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination in accordance with our contracts and established supply schedule, regardless of the outcome of this legal case. “
