Moderna favored at Morgan Stanley on U.S. support for Arbutus patent case
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Morgan Stanley issued positive views on Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) on Tuesday, noting that recently the U.S. government backed the company in a patent infringement lawsuit with Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS) and Genevant Sciences over its COVID-19 vaccine.
In a Delaware federal court last week, the U.S. Justice Department argued that the government, not Moderna, should face the lawsuit as the vaccine was developed with funds from the federal government's Operation Warp Speed program.
The analyst Matthew Harrison notes that the government's stand has prompted U.S. District Judge Mitchell Goldberg to revisit his previous decision to deny Moderna's (MRNA) motion seeking the case to be dismissed.
The analyst Harrison expects judge Goldberg to issue a decision by Mar. 02 on whether he would overturn his previous judgment. "This is an incremental positive for Moderna," the analyst added, reaffirming his Equal Weight rating and $205 per share target on the stock.
In November, Arbutus (ABUS) and its partner for Genevant, Roivant Sciences (ROIV), gained after judge Goldberg dismissed Moderna (MRNA) motion in which the company argued that given its vaccine sales to the U.S., Arbutus (ABUS) should instead sue the government.
The analyst also expects Goldbergâs decision to impact another pending court case where Moderna (MRNA) used a similar defense against Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) over allegations of patent infringement in its COVID-19 vaccine.