CureVac, a multinational biopharmaceutical firm working to create a new category of transformative drugs using messenger ribonucleic acid (“mRNA”), declared that it has bolstered its stand in the ongoing patent disputes with Pfizer/BioNTech in Germany and the U.S. by broadening the scope of both situations and claiming new intellectual property rights.
The inclusion of a fifth intellectual property right, as reported in May 2023, reinforced the patent lawsuit in Germany that CureVac initially launched in June 2022. A further three IP rights have now been added to these five. These include EP4023755 for split poly A tail vaccines containing mRNA; DE202021004130U1 for COVID-19 variant-adapted vaccines, which include the Omicron and XBB1.5 versions; and DE202021004123U1.
CureVac’s Counterclaim and Expanded Patent Allegations Against Pfizer/BioNTech in the US
- CureVac filed a counterclaim in the US in May 2023, expanding the scope of the case regarding patent violations by Pfizer/BioNTech.
- The counterclaim alleges the violation of nine US patents, which extends beyond the three patents initially mentioned by Pfizer/BioNTech.
- An additional patent (US11667910) related to mRNA purification techniques has been added to the existing nine patents.
- CureVac’s objective through the lawsuit is to seek recognition and compensation for both past and future sales, rather than seeking to halt the creation and distribution of the Pfizer/BioNTech shot.
CureVac CEO Dr. Alexander Zehnder remarked, “With the addition to the lawsuits in Germany and the U.S. of new and highly relevant intellectual property rights, CureVac not only extends the scope of the cases in both jurisdictions but demonstrates that we continue to be at the forefront of innovation in the mRNA field.”
He added that he believes in the worth of the company’s intellectual property collection as the industry leader in mRNA technology, and is convinced that the appropriate courts will accept our legitimate requests for fair remuneration under German and American law.
In the beginning of June 2022, CureVac sued BioNTech for patent infringement in Germany. The Regional Court Düsseldorf will have the first public hearing in this case mid-August this year. Pfizer/BioNTech launched a nullity action using one of the disputed patents (EP1857122B1) in September last year. The German Federal Patent Court’s preliminary judgment from April 2023 affirms the CureVac patent’s validity.
Late in July 2022, Pfizer/BioNTech filed a case in the U.S., requesting proof that Comirnaty wasn’t infringing on three CureVac patents. The ten U.S. patents CureVac cites in its counterclaim include these three.
A transfer of the lawsuit to the Eastern District of Virginia was also requested by CureVac, and subsequently accepted. The firm anticipates that the action will “significantly accelerate” the procedure, probably enabling a 2024 trial date.
CureVac has more than 20 years of expertise in the design, refinement, and production of mRNA technology for medical applications.
The fundamental idea behind CureVac’s patented technology is the use of enhanced mRNA as a channel for information to instruct the body to make its own proteins capable of battling a variety of conditions.
