BioNTech, Pfizer ask U.S. court for clearance over patent dispute with CureVac

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BioNTech

BioNTech, Pfizer ask U.S. court for clearance over patent dispute with CureVac

By Ludwig Burger

FRANKFURT, July 26 (Reuters) – COVID-19 vaccine maker BioNTech (22UAy.DE) said on Tuesday that it and partner Pfizer (PFE.N) have filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, seeking a judgment that they did not infringe U.S. patents held by rival CureVac (5CV.DE).

Test tubes are seen in front of a displayed Biontech logo in this illustration taken, May 21, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

CureVac earlier this month filed a patent lawsuit in Germany against BioNTech over its use of mRNA technology and did not rule out further legal action against BioNTech’s partner Pfizer or rival mRNA vaccine maker Moderna (MRNA.O). read more

BioNTech said that CureVac’s U.S. patents, which BioNTech claims in its filing not to be in violation of, were equivalent to German patents invoked by CureVac in the German court case.

CureVac said in a statement it was aware of BioNTech’s legal action but had not yet been formally served.

“We will review the matter legally in detail and represent our position accordingly,” it added.

Reporting by Ludwig Burger, editing by Kirsti Knolle

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source: Reuters