A Covid-19 vaccine based on CureVac’s messenger RNA technology has yet to successfully emerge from clinical trials, falling far behind rival BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine, which has been licensed and approved globally. But CureVac is now trying to win in another forum: German courts.
Tübingen, Germany-based CureVac believes BioNTech’s vaccine infringes key mRNA technology patents. Tuesday, CureVac file a lawsuit In the German District Court in Düsseldorf, Germany, against BioNTech and its two subsidiaries. CureVac said it would not seek to stop the manufacture and distribution of the Covid vaccine that BioNTech is marketing with partner Pfizer under the Comirnaty brand. But the company is seeking “equitable compensation” of an undisclosed amount.
“CureVac’s intellectual property portfolio protects several inventions deemed essential to the design and development of BioNTech’s SARS CoV-2 mRNA vaccine, among others,” CureVac said in its statement announcing the lawsuit. “These relate to the engineering of mRNA molecules, including sequence modifications to increase stability and enhance protein expression, as well as mRNA vaccine formulations for the SARS CoV-2 vaccine.”
Founded in 2000, CureVac develops technology based on insights into mRNA biology and interactions with the immune system. It initially focused on developing mRNA vaccines for cancer and rabies. Like many vaccine developers, it turned to Covid-19 as the pandemic hit. But CureVac’s research has been hampered by delays and clinical trial setbacks. When BioNTech and Pfizer ramped up distribution of FDA-authorized vaccines a year ago, CureVac is grappling with clinical trial results, and its effectiveness is only 47% — well below the rates reported by BioNTech and Moderna’s vaccines. CureVac blamed the results on a new virus variant circulating in the clinical trial population.
To try again on the mRNA Covid vaccine, CureVac has partnered with GlaxoSmithKline to develop a next-generation bivalent mRNA vaccine. But the vaccine is now also behind other vaccine developers. CureVac and GlaxoSmithKline Start Phase 1 study in spring. Still, CureVac credits its early work as an mRNA pioneer — BioNTech was founded eight years after CureVac — contributing to the development of a Covid-19 vaccine.
BioNTech responds to CureVac in its own way statement No specific patent infringement claims were resolved or even its competitors were mentioned by name. BioNTech said in a brief statement that it values and respects valid intellectual property rights.
“BioNTech’s work is original, and we will defend it against all allegations of patent infringement,” the company continued. “However, we know that it is not uncommon for other companies in the pharmaceutical industry, after witnessing the success of Comirnaty, to now suggest that the vaccine may infringe on their intellectual property.”
CureVac’s lawsuit isn’t the first patent infringement claim Comirnaty has faced. March, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals sues Moderna and Pfizer alleging their vaccines infringe on its lipid nanoparticle technology Used to deliver RNA into cells. Like CureVac, Alnylam said it did not want to stop the production and distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine. However, Alnylam is seeking damages or other monetary relief “not less than a reasonable royalty.”
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