BioNTech, Pfizer ask U.S. court for clearance over patent dispute with CureVac (updated)

CureVac NV

26/07/2022 14:13

(Adds further comment by companies)
    By Ludwig Burger
    FRANKFURT, July 26 (Reuters) - COVID-19 vaccine maker
BioNTech  22UAy.DE  said on Tuesday that it and partner Pfizer
 PFE.N  have filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court in
Massachusetts, seeking a judgment that they did not infringe
U.S. patents held by rival CureVac  5CV.DE . 
    CureVac earlier this month filed a patent lawsuit in Germany
against BioNTech over its use of mRNA technology and did not
rule out further legal action against BioNTech's partner Pfizer 
or rival mRNA vaccine maker Moderna  MRNA.O .  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2YM300
    BioNTech said that CureVac's U.S. patents, which BioNTech
claims in its filing not to be in violation of, were equivalent
to German patents invoked by CureVac in the German court case.
    CureVac said in a statement it was aware of BioNTech's legal
action but had not yet been formally served. 
    "We will review the matter legally in detail and represent
our position accordingly," it added. 
    
    

 (Reporting by Ludwig Burger, editing by Kirsti Knolle)
 ((ludwig.burger@thomsonreuters.com; +49 30 220133634;))