Biotech Values

[Biowatch]

Moderna Sues Pfizer, BioNTech Over Covid Vaccine Technology

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/26/business/moderna-covid-vaccine-lawsuit.html

I am somewhat astonished that it would take them this long to sue if they thought that they had a legitimate claim. I’m not saying that they don’t, but both vaccines have been on the market for quite a while now…

The allegation of patent infringement sets up what could become a protracted and expensive legal battle between the companies behind coronavirus vaccines that have saved millions of lives worldwide and raised hopes for future medical products using similar messenger RNA, or mRNA, technology.

Experts said Moderna’s litigation, regardless of its outcome, was unlikely to impede access to Covid vaccines or chill the development of mRNA products. But the outcome could dictate whether Pfizer or Moderna controls and profits more from a powerful and lucrative medical technology.

Mind you, if Moderna loses this particular lawsuit it doesn’t automatically mean that Pfizer controls the field of mRNA.

Vaccines may be the perfect use for mRNA, as delivery is always going to be a key issue for an RNA product, given that the RNase enzyme is everywhere waiting to destroy it in order to stop an uncontrolled production of something that is useful only in certain circumstances.

Kill the messenger is perhaps an even older trope than kill all the lawyers…