GlaxoSmithKline files lawsuit against Pfizer and BioNTech for Covid-19 vaccine technology

GlaxoSmithKline filed a lawsuit against Pfizer and BioNTech in Delaware federal court, alleging that the companies’ COVID-19 vaccines, Comirnaty, infringe on GSK’s patents related to messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. GSK claims that the patents were developed more than a decade before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to the lawsuit, a Pfizer spokesperson stated that the company is confident in its intellectual property position surrounding Comirnaty and intends to vigorously defend against GSK’s claims. BioNTech representatives did not immediately comment on the lawsuit.

GSK believes that its patents underpin the technology used in Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and is willing to license these patents on reasonable terms to ensure continued patient access to the shots. The lawsuit is part of a series of U.S. court cases involving Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna concerning patent royalties for their vaccine technology.

GSK is seeking unspecified monetary damages from Pfizer and BioNTech, including ongoing patent-licensing fees, based on their alleged infringement of GSK’s mRNA technology patents. The company’s patents cover the technology for delivering fragile mRNA into human cells, a technology first developed in 2008 and acquired by GSK in 2015.

This lawsuit adds to a previous case in which GSK sued Pfizer for patent infringement related to Pfizer’s RSV vaccine. Pfizer has denied GSK’s claims in that case. Last year, Pfizer and Moderna earned billions in revenue from their COVID-19 vaccines, but sales declined significantly compared to the previous year.