PFE - Pfizer Moderna face new patent lawsuits over COVID vaccine tech

2023-06-07 07:07:57 ET

Promosome LLC became the latest to stake a claim to the groundbreaking messenger-RNA-based vaccine technology when the New York-based biotech filed a lawsuit against Pfizer ( PFE ), BioNTech ( BNTX ), and Moderna ( NASDAQ: MRNA ) on Tuesday in a California federal court.

Pfizer ( PFE ), BioNTech ( BNTX ), and Moderna ( MRNA ) dominate the market for COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. and many other parts of the world.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in San Diego, California, accuses the trio of copying Promosome's technology that ultimately led to the development of safe and effective mRNA vaccines.

Promosome seeks a court ruling to receive a portion of royalties from the vaccines, which in 2022 generated $37.8B and $18.4B in sales for Pfizer ( PFE )/ BioNTech ( BNTX ) and Moderna ( MRNA ), respectively.

Promosome was founded in 2003 to commercialize the technology developed by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La Jolla, California.

The vaccine makers have "failed to give Promosome what it deserves" for developing the novel technology, Reuters reported quoting the company's attorney Bill Carmody.

Moderna ( MRNA ), Pfizer ( PFE ), and BioNTech ( BNTX ) were not immediately available for comments on the litigation. The vaccine makers have faced patent infringement lawsuits from companies including CureVac N.V. ( CVAC ) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals ( ALNY ) in the past.

More on patent disputes over COVID vaccines

• Moderna to file patent lawsuits against Pfizer/BioNTech over mRNA technology
• The mRNA Vaccine Patent Fight Expands

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