World News | Moderna Sues Pfizer over Patents Behind COVID-19 Vaccine

Washington, Aug 26 (AP) COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna is suing Pfizer and the German drugmaker BioNTech, accusing its main competitors of copying Moderna's technology in order to make their own vaccine.

Moderna said on Friday that Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine Comirnaty infringes on patents Moderna filed several years ago protecting the technology behind its preventive shot, Spikevax.

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The company filed patent infringement lawsuits in both US federal court and a German court.

A Pfizer spokeswoman declined to comment, saying the company had not been served with a copy of the litigation.

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Moderna and Pfizer's two-shot vaccines both use mRNA technology to help patients fight the coronavirus.

The mRNA vaccines work by injecting a genetic code for the spike protein that coats the surface of the coronavirus. That code, the mRNA, is encased in a little ball of fat, and instructs the body's cells to make some harmless spike copies that train the immune system to recognise the real virus.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in a prepared statement that the vaccine developer pioneered that technology and invested billions of dollars in creating it.

The company said it believes its rivals' vaccine infringes on patents Moderna filed between 2010 and 2016. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)