Northwestern University filed a lawsuit against Moderna on Wednesday, alleging that the company misused the university’s patented lipid nanoparticles in the development of its SpikeVax COVID-19 vaccine.
According to the complaint, NU played a key role in the development of lipid nanoparticles. The university also claimed that Moderna’s explicit use of the particles in its mRNA vaccine was a patent violation. The university is seeking “reasonable royalties,” but has not said how much it expects Moderna to pay.
Moderna’s SpikeVax was first introduced to the market in December 2020. Last year, the company generated $6.7 billion in revenue from vaccines.
According to the complaint, the work of chemistry professor Chad Mirkin, Feinberg Colby Thaxton, and Feinberg Kaylin McMahon professors “inspired the discovery and deployment of LNP through their work to understand the particle’s capabilities.” ”.
mRNA vaccines were developed because of their ability to respond to infection much faster than traditional vaccines. Traditional vaccines typically use antibodies, which are proteins that neutralize pathogens and take several days to be produced in the body. In the meantime, the infection continues to take its toll on the patient. mRNA vaccines significantly shorten the production of antiviral proteins in the body, allowing the body to recover faster.
Getting mRNA, a type of genetic material, into cells has long puzzled scientists, leading researchers to develop LNPs in the 2010s. They mimic the proteins that naturally deliver substances into cells, circumventing various obstacles faced by inorganic carriers.
NU has three papers on how researchers “pioneered” LNP technology, how oligonucleotides are loaded, the structures in which they are bound to synthetic carriers, and the nanostructures containing apolipoproteins that enable entry. It claims that it is suing based on the patent. Inside human cells.
The lawsuit alleges that Moderna could not have developed SpikeVax as quickly as it did without “appropriating” technology developed by other researchers.
A spokesperson for the university declined to comment on the lawsuit, and a spokesperson for Moderna said it was aware of the lawsuit and intended to “defend itself” against the allegations.
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