Moderna sues Pfizer/BioNTech for patent infringement

Moderna yesterday sued Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech for patent infringement in the development of the first Covid-19 vaccine approved in the United States, alleging they copied technology that Moderna developed years before the pandemic. Pfizer shares fell nearly 1 percent, while BioNTech US-listed shares were down about 1.5 percent and Moderna shares slipped 1.7 percent yesterday. The lawsuit, which seeks undetermined monetary damages, was filed in US District Court in Massachusetts. In a news release yesterday, Moderna said the lawsuit would be filed also in the Regional Court of Duesseldorf in Germany. "We are filing these lawsuits to protect the innovative mRNA technology platform that we pioneered, invested billions of dollars in creating, and patented during the decade preceding the Covid-19 pandemic," Moderna Chief Executive Stephane Bancel said in the news release.