at the National Institutes of Health to test and develop its COVID-19 vaccine. The company said its lawsuit is not related to any patent rights generated during that collaboration.
Moderna said in its complaint that Pfizer and BioNTech copied some critical features of its technology, including making the "exact same chemical modification to their mRNA that Moderna scientists first developed years earlier" and went on to use in Spikevax.Moderna said it recognizes the importance of vaccine access and is not seeking to remove Comirnaty from the market. It also is not asking for an injunction to prevent future sales.
It said it still would not enforce its patents for vaccines used in low- and middle-income countries. But it expected companies like Pfizer and BioNTech to respect its intellectual property, and it would consider "a commercially reasonable license" in other markets if they requested one.The vaccines have swiftly become top-selling products globally.