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CureVac
is suing
BioNTech
over intellectual property rights linked to mRNA technology, putting the Covid-19 vaccine developed by
Pfizer
and
BioNTech
in the crosshairs.
CureVac
(ticker: CVAC) said Tuesday that it had filed a lawsuit in the German regional court in Düsseldorf against BioNTech (BNTX) and two of its subsidiaries. The company said it is seeking fair compensation for the infringement of intellectual property rights that aided in the manufacture and sale of Comirnaty—the ubiquitous Covid-19 vaccine developed by BioNTech and
Pfizer
(PFE).
Detailing more than two decades of pioneering work in messenger RNA (mRNA) drug technology—which also underpins a vaccine from
Moderna
(MRNA)—CureVac said its intellectual property includes mRNA vaccine formulations specific to Covid-19 shots.
“The CureVac intellectual property portfolio protects multiple inventions that are considered essential to the design and development of BioNTech’s SARS CoV-2 mRNA vaccine, among others,” CureVac said in a statement.
In a statement, BioNTech highlighted that its co-founders and their teams were able to rapidly and successfully create the world’s first approved Covid-19 vaccine, and pushed back on CureVac’s allegations.
“BioNTech’s work is original, and we will vigorously defend it against all allegations of patent infringement,” the company said. “We are aware that it is not unusual that other companies in the pharmaceutical industry, having witnessed the success of COMIRNATY, are now suggesting that the vaccine potentially infringes their intellectual property rights.”
Pfizer did not respond to a request for comment from Barron’s.
CureVac added that it was not seeking an injunction nor intending to take legal action that would impede the production, sale, or distribution of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine.
Shares in CureVac fell 2% by midday, having previously jumped almost 5% in premarket trading following news of the lawsuit. BioNTech stock slipped 0.5% and shares in Pfizer lost 3.5%.
Write to Jack Denton at [email protected]
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