Moderna sues Pfizer over patents behind COVID-19 vaccine

Moderna sues Pfizer over patents behind COVID-19 vaccine

FILE - This Sept. 21, 2021 file photo shows vials of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in Jackson, Miss. Moderna is suing its main competitors Pfizer and the German drugmaker BioNTech, accusing the rivals of copying Moderna’s technology in order to make their own vaccine. Moderna said Friday, Aug. 26, 2022, that Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine Comirnaty infringes on patents Moderna filed several years ago protecting the technology behind its preventive shot, Spikevax. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

(AP) -COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna is suing its main competitors Pfizer and the German drugmaker BioNTech, accusing the rivals of copying Moderna’s technology in order to make their own vaccine. Moderna said Friday that Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine Comirnaty infringes on patents Moderna filed several years ago protecting the technology behind its preventive shot, Spikevax. The company filed patent infringement lawsuits in both U.S. 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.

Photo: FILE – This Sept. 21, 2021 file photo shows vials of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in Jackson, Miss. Moderna is suing its main competitors Pfizer and the German drugmaker BioNTech, accusing the rivals of copying Moderna’s technology in order to make their own vaccine. Moderna said Friday, Aug. 26, 2022, that Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine Comirnaty infringes on patents Moderna filed several years ago protecting the technology behind its preventive shot, Spikevax. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)