German Pharmaceutical Company, CureVac, has filed a Patent Infringement Lawsuit against the German Biotechnology Company BioNTech in Germany over its use of mRNA technology. CureVac is now seeking ‘fair compensation’ from BioNTech and two subsidiaries for infringing upon its Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs).
As per several reports, the Chief Executive Officer at CureVac, Franz-Werner Haas, has not ruled out further legal action against mRNA vaccine maker Moderna or BioNTech partner Pfizer.
CureVac believes that its claims to IPRs are based on more than two decades of sincere work and effort on mRNA technology, some of which have been used by BioNTech and Pfizer in the development and sale of their Comirnaty Coronavirus vaccine.
In a recent statement delivered, Haas said that many years of CureVac’s research and development have also contributed well to the success of mRNA vaccines and made the same possible. From his and the entire company’s point of view, it is pretty self-evident to respect the IPRs associated.
Meanwhile, this year, BioNTech expects up to 17 billion euros ($17.5 billion) in vaccine revenue, which is down from the 19 billion revenue of the previous year with the COVID-19 pandemic easing. CureVac said that neither it is seeking an injunction nor taking legal action that would impede the production, sale, or distribution of the vaccine.
Haas said that it would not have occurred to CureVac at the height of the pandemic to point out patent infringement; however, the company believes that there is better control over the pandemic at present and the right time to bring up the issue of patent infringement.
When contacted by the news reporters to talk about the said lawsuit, BioNTech didn’t have any immediate comment.
As of now, Haas is coy about potential further legal action, indicating that in the first place, a basis is needed concerning CureVac’s fair share in product development and sales in Germany and how it would be appropriately valued. When reporters asked whether or not he would rule out legal action against Moderna, Haas said that CureVac is not ruling anything out currently and instead looking at the matter very carefully.
Began in China, the COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 6.3 million individuals to date and spurred a race amongst the pharmaceutical companies to be the first to come up with a vaccine, with Pfizer and BioNTech dominating in the western world.
After several failed attempts to launch a COVID-19 vaccine to the market last year, CureVac escalated its work and effort with partner GSK on improved vaccine versions.
This year in April, GSK and CureVac said that their second-generation vaccine version, which targets two recent COVID-19 variants, is highly effective in pre-clinical studies on mice. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com
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