GSK Sues Pfizer and BioNTech Over Alleged Patent Infringement in COVID-19 Vaccines

GlaxoSmithKline sued Pfizer and BioNTech in federal court in Delaware on Thursday, accusing them of infringing GSK’s patents related to mRNA (mRNA) technology in the companies’ successful COVID-19 vaccines, reports Reuters, cited by News.ro.

GSK said in the lawsuit that Pfizer and BioNTech’s Comirnaty vaccines infringe the company’s patent rights on mRNA vaccine techniques developed “more than a decade before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

A Pfizer spokesman said the company is “confident in our intellectual property position around Comarnaty” and plans to mount a “vigorous defence” against GSK’s claims.

A BioNTech spokesperson declined to comment on the complaint. A GSK spokesperson said the company believed its patents “provide the core technology used in Pfizer and BioNTech’s mRNA vaccines for COVID-19” and were “willing to grant the patents to allow that on commercially reasonable terms and ensure the patient’s continued access” to vaccines.

The suit adds to a network of high-profile US court cases involving Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna over patent royalties for technology used in their vaccines, including which brought Moderna against Pfizer in 2022.

Pfizer earned $11.2 billion last year from sales of its Comirnaty vaccine, while Moderna earned $6.7 billion from its Spikevax vaccine.

Sales of both vaccines fell significantly last year compared to 2022.

London-based GSK has asked the court for an unspecified amount of monetary damages from Pfizer and BioNTech, which includes an upcoming patent license fee.

GSK said in the complaint that its patents cover technology for transporting fragile mRNA into human cells, which scientists began developing in 2008.

GSK said it bought the rights to the inventions when it acquired part of Novartis’ vaccine business NOVN.S in 2015.

GSK also sued Pfizer last year for patent infringement over the technology used in Pfizer’s respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine Abrysvo. Pfizer denied GSK’s claims in the case.