Moderna Sues Pfizer Over Patents Behind COVID-19 Vaccine

Moderna said in 2020 that it would not enforce its COVID-19-related patents while the pandemic continued. But later said it would update that pledge.

COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna is suing Pfizer and the German drugmaker BioNTech, accusing its main competitors of copying Moderna's technology in order to make their own vaccine.

Moderna said Friday that Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine Comirnaty infringes on patents Moderna filed several years ago protecting the technology behind its preventive shot, Spikevax. The company filed patent infringement lawsuits in both U.S. federal court and a German court.

Pfizer spokeswoman Pam Eisele said the company had not fully reviewed Moderna's lawsuit, but the drugmaker was surprised by it, given that their vaccine is based on proprietary technology developed by both BioNTech and Pfizer.