Oct 16 (Reuters) – Moderna (MRNA.O) opens in new tab A new patent lawsuit from Northwestern University was filed in Delaware federal court on Wednesday. The lawsuit accuses the company of misusing the university’s innovations to develop a blockbuster COVID-19 vaccine. Spikevax.Opens in a new tab, according to the lawsuit Moderna used Northwestern-developed lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology in its Spikevax shot without a license to transport fragile messenger RNA into the human body. There is.
A Moderna spokesperson said the company is aware of the lawsuit and intends to defend itself against it. Northwestern’s attorney and spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
The lawsuit adds to a series of U.S. lawsuits involving Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna over royalties for technology used in their coronavirus vaccines, including the 2022 lawsuit (USN:L2N3GL23C Text: “Moderna filed suit against Pfizer”) is also included. British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (USN:L1N3LR0LZ Text: “Sued Moderna”) was sued in the same Delaware court on Tuesday for allegedly misusing GSK’s LNP technology for COVID-19 and RSV shots. Ta.
Evanston, Illinois-based Northwestern University said its researchers pioneered the use of LNPs to deliver mRNA into human cells in 2009 and 2010. The university’s lawsuit said Moderna’s Spikevax LNP works similarly to the company’s patented technology.
The school’s complaint said Moderna would not have been able to make “rapid progress” in vaccine development “without leveraging the technological advances of leading researchers, including those at Northwestern University.”
Northwestern has asked the court for an unspecified amount of monetary damages, including royalties, for Moderna’s alleged copyright infringement. Moderna made $6.7 billion in revenue from Spikebucks last year.
The case is Northwestern University v. Moderna, Inc., U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, No. 1:24-cv-01151.
Northwesterners: Rebecca Horwitz, John Hughes, Mac Luverne, Catherine Rose of Bartlett Beck.
For Moderna: Not yet available
read more:
(USN:B8N2ZA002 Text: “Moderna sues Pfizer/BioNTech for patent infringement over new coronavirus vaccine”)
(USN:L1N3LR0LZ Text: “GSK sues Moderna for infringement of U.S. patents over new coronavirus, RSV vaccine”)
Sign up here.
Report by Blake Brittain in Washington
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles opens in a new tab
Purchase license rights
