Moderna's Key COVID Vaccine Patent Revoked in Europe Amid BioNTech Dispute

Moderna’s mRNA patent for COVID has been declared invalid amid its dispute with rival BioNTech. The European Patent Office reportedly nullified one of the patents involved in a lawsuit and this decision is a defeat for the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical and biotech firm.

BioNTech SE revealed on Tuesday, Nov. 21, that the European Patent Office announced that the mRNA patent that Moderna was appealing to in a litigation is not valid. This was in connection to the case filed by the latter, claiming that BioNTech and Pfizer violated a patent it is using, as per Reuters.

"We understand and welcome the European Patent Office’s decision to revoke Moderna’s European Patent 3 718 565 B1," BioNTech said in a statement. "The European Patent Office’s decision is an important one as we believe that this and others of Moderna’s patents do not meet the requirements for grant and should never have been granted."

Moderna Loses COVID Vaccine Patent in Europe

Many manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines have been fighting over patents. Moderna and BioNTech are two of the firms that have been engaged in heated court litigations for a long time. Pfizer, BioNTech’s partner is also involved and in the latest development, it appears that Moderna lost in its fight for mRNA’s patent in Europe after the EPO ruled it invalid.

Fierce Pharma reported that the patent owned by Moderna was canceled and this is the one that protects “respiratory virus vaccines.” Aside from Pfizer and BioNTech, France’s Sanofi S.A. is another pharmaceutical company that is opposing the patent that Moderna is trying to claim it owns the copyright to.

Patent Dispute Between Moderna and BioNTech

The dispute is mainly about two of Moderna’s patents namely: EP 3 590 949 B1 and EP 3 718 565 B1. The first one protects “ribonucleic acids containing n1-methyl-pseudouracils and uses thereof” while the second type protects “respiratory virus vaccines.”

Juve Patent mentioned that Moderna thinks Pfizer and BioNTech copied some features of these patented technologies that have become essential to the success of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. However, on Nov. 21, the European Patent Office Opposition Division revoked one of the patents owned by Moderna, and in response, BioNTech said it welcomed the EPO’s decision.

On the other hand, Moderna said it will appeal this decision as it completely disagrees with it. The company added it believes the validity of its patent is still strong.

Photo by: Ian Hutchinson/Unsplash