The European Patent Office has declared an mRNA patent of the US biotech company Moderna invalid in a patent dispute with BioNTech. Moderna announced on Tuesday that they will appeal against this decision, while BioNTech welcomed the ruling.
Moderna stated that they disagree with the European Patent Office’s decision regarding the ‘565 patent’ and remain convinced of its validity. The decision caused a drop in Moderna’s shares, falling more than two percent in premarket trading on Wall Street.
On the other hand, BioNTech was pleased with the verdict and stated that they believe that many of Moderna’s patents do not meet the requirements for granting and should never have been granted. The European Patent Office said that a written decision on the matter would be published in the coming weeks or months.
The conflict between Moderna and BioNTech started when Moderna sued Biontech and Pfizer, accusing them of violating patents registered before the pandemic. CureVac also filed a lawsuit against Biontech, claiming that their successful Covid-19 vaccine infringed on his patents. However, both Biontech and Pfizer rejected these allegations and filed a counterclaim.