As I previously blogged here and here, Moderna has been tagged with two patent-infringement lawsuits directed to its LNP technology for delivering its mRNA vaccine for Covid. Moderna has now lodged its first defense two each suit—and in each case, it’s the same. Moderna claims that both plaintiffs, including Arbutus/Genevant and Alnylam, have each sued the wrong party. Moderna contracted with the U.S. Government to provide the vaccine, and pursuant to that contract, Moderna claims that the Government agreed to bear the brunt of any residual patent liability. Will the Government have to pick up the tab for Moderna’s patent infringement?
Read MoreModerna faces a new patent lawsuit related to its Covid vaccine. On March 17, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals commenced two separate patent lawsuits—one against Moderna and another against Pfizer. Both suits claim that the Covid manufacturers’ vaccines are infringing a patent owned by Alnylam. So what are Alnylam’s lawsuits all about?
Read MoreOn March 7, Moderna updated its patent-pledge with respect to enforcement of its IP rights for its Covid vaccine. In short, Moderna pledged that it will never enforce its patents against Covid vaccines manufactured within certain middle and low-income countries, but may enforce them against vaccines in other countries, such as the US. What are the take-aways from the pledge?
Read MoreArbutus has finally sued Moderna for allegedly infringing its LNP patents. I previously blogged about the Arbutus/Moderna patent dispute here, here and here. Arbutus has already defended the validity of two of its patents, which puts it case on strong footing. But Moderna may nevertheless have a targeted non-infringement defense that could neutralize Arbutus’ claim to any royalties on Moderna’s Covid vaccine.
Read MoreWe previously blogged about Moderna Therapeutics’ ($MRNA) ongoing patent dispute with Arbutus Biopharma ($ABUS). On July 23, 2020, Arbutus prevailed in Moderna’s third IPR challenge to one of its patents, the ‘069 patent. Given that Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate is currently one of the most promising, the question is, will Moderna’s vaccine infringe Arbutus’ patents?
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