German court quashes CureVac patent after challenge by BioNTech (updated)

CureVac NV

19/12/2023 14:12

(Adds background from paragraph 2)
    By Jörn Poltz
       MUNICH, Dec 19 (Reuters) - A German court on Tuesday
invalidated a patent that was the basis of a patent violation
lawsuit brought by CureVac against its domestic rival BioNTech,
in a blow to CureVac's claims for a share in billions of euros
in COVID-19 vaccine revenues.
    "The patent is being declared invalid for the territory of
the Federal Republic of Germany," Walter Schramm, presiding
judge in Germany's patent court, said in his ruling after a
hearing.
    CureVac's Frankfurt-listed shares plunged 40% after the
verdict.
    The patent in question is one of several intellectual
property titles that CureVac  5CV.DE  claims were infringed in
ongoing legal proceedings. 
    BioNTech  22UAy.DE  has responded by challenging the
validity of Curevac's patents and of its so-called German
utility models, which are easier to obtain than patents but
confer a shorter exclusivity period.
    CureVac's efforts to develop an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine
did not come to fruition during the pandemic, whereas BioNTech
and its partner Pfizer  PFE.N  chalked up more than $40 billion
in combined vaccines sales in 2021 and 2022.
    Analysts have previously said much is at stake in the legal
dispute for CureVac because being awarded even a small fraction
of those revenues could transform its financial position.
    A regional German court in September put on hold a separate
patent infringement trial brought by CureVac against BioNTech
over the use of mRNA technology in COVID-19 vaccines, weighing
on CureVac's shares.
    The Duesseldorf regional court said at the time it suspended
its proceedings until the German and European patent offices
decide on a legal challenge filed by BioNTech over the validity
of CureVac's intellectual property rights.

 (Reporting by Joern Poltz; Writing by Ludwig Burger; Editing by
Rachel More and Hugh Lawson)
 ((ludwig.burger@thomsonreuters.com; +49 30 220133634;))