Moderna urges court to dismiss patent claims on COVID-19 shot
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Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by two small biopharma companies seeking damages for violation of certain U.S. patents related to the companyâs blockbuster COVID-19 shot, branded as Spikevax.
RNA therapeutics company Genevant Sciences and clinical-stage biotech Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS) filed the case in February, holding Moderna (MRNA) and an affiliate of the vaccine maker accountable for the infringement.
âThe claims brought by Genevant and Arbutus are unfounded because Modernaâs COVID-19 vaccine does not infringe any valid patents,â Moderna (MRNA) said in a statement after filing the motion in a federal court in Delaware on Friday.
The company said in the new filing that it sought to dismiss the claims because Genevant and Arbutus (ABUS) âhave sued the wrong party in the wrong court.â
Instead, Moderna (MRNA) said that, under federal law, the patent holders seeking claims against the government-contracted suppliers must sue the government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
âThis law provides an important statutory protection for authorized government suppliers and played a critical role in encouraging companies, including Moderna, to step up and help the Government fight the COVID-19 pandemic,â the company added.
During the pandemic, the U.S. government was the only buyer of the mRNA-based COVID-19 shot developed by Moderna (MRNA) in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Even if Genevant and Arbutus (ABUS) were to refile in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, their claims would fail as the company had not infringed any patents, Moderna (MRNA) said.
In response, Genevant said it would object to Modernaâs (MRNA) motion. âRather than respond to the substance of our claims, Moderna is trying to shift responsibility for its patent infringement to the U.S. taxpayer,â The Wall Street Journal reported, quoting Genevant.
Last year, in a U.S. patent application for its vaccine, the Cambridge, Mass.-based Moderna (MRNA) dropped three NIH scientists and listed only its employees as inventors of a key component of the shot.
Later, the company pulled the application after NIH director Dr. Francis Collins said the agency would defend its claims.