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Modernais suingPfizerand BioNTech over allegations that the biopharmaceutical companies copied their mRNA technology in COVID-19 vaccines without permission.
In anews releaseFriday, the Cambridge, Massachusetts company stated they plan to file patent infringement lawsuits against Pfizer in the United States District Court of Massachusetts and their German partner BioNTech in the Regional Court of Düsseldorf in Germany.
“We believe that Pfizer and BioNTech unlawfully copied Moderna’s inventions, and they have continued to use them without permission,” said Moderna Chief Legal Officer Shannon Thyme Klinger.
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They added, “We remain confident in our intellectual property supporting the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and will vigorously defend against the allegations of the lawsuit.”
Moderna said they do not intend on removing the Pfizer vaccine, called Comirnaty, from the market, acknowledging that everyone needs access to these life-saving vaccines, but alleges Pfizer and BioNTech copied two key features of the company’s patented technologies to develop their own.
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“We are filing these lawsuits to protect the innovative mRNA technology platform that we pioneers, invested billions of dollars in creating, and patented during the decade preceding the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Moderna Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Bancel.
source: people.com
