CureVac NV sues BioNTech for IP infringement

On Monday, CureVac filed a lawsuit in the German Regional Court in Düsseldorf against BioNTech SE and two of its subsidiaries, seeking compensation for infringement of CureVac’s patents, EP1.857.122.B1, DE.20.2015.009 961.U1, DE.20.2021.003.575.U1 and DE.20.2015.009.974.U1 that cover mRNA modification and expression levels as well as mRNA vaccine formulations specific to SARS CoV-2 vaccines.

CureVac CEO Franz-Werner Hass made clear that it was not the intention to stop sales or production of BioNtech's effective pandemic mRNA vaccine Cormirnaty. "We just want to have this piece of contribution to be recognised," he said. Though CureVac pioneered the mRNA vaccine technology's for 22 years, its vaccine development was much slower than that of BioNtech and as viral variants occured during Phase III tests that affected mRNA-encoded antibody binding affininty to the viral spike protein, CureVac’s vaccine just showed an efficacy of 47% .

BioNTech SE sharply rejected CureVac's claim stressing "BioNTech's work is original, and we will vigorously defend it against all allegations of patent infringement." A spokesman pointed to the fact that CureVac was not the first company claiming that BioNtech/Pfizer infringed its IP rights. Other companies sueing BioNTech/Pfizer were San Diego-based Allele Biotechnology, Regeneron Inc., and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.