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Curevac sues Biontech over corona vaccine

2022-07-05T14:05:29.092Z


The Tübingen company Curevac sees its patents being infringed by its competitor Biontech. That is why it is now going to court against the much more successful competition from Mainz in the corona pandemic.


Enlarge image

Curevac's first corona vaccine project failed

Photo: Martin Wagner / IMAGO

The biotech company Curevac has sued the vaccine manufacturer Biontech before the Düsseldorf Regional Court.

The company from Tübingen sees its patents being infringed by the competitor from Mainz, which was successful in the pandemic.

The lawsuit is directed against Biontech and two subsidiaries, Curevac announced.

Accordingly, “fair compensation” is required for the violation of a number of its intellectual property rights, which were used in the manufacture and sale of the Covid 19 vaccine Comirnaty by Biontech and its US partner Pfizer.

According to Curevac, the company has long been aware of the alleged infringement of its patents.

»At the peak of the pandemic, none of us would have thought of pointing out the patent infringement.

Now that there is better control over the pandemic, we think it is the right time, "said a Curevac spokeswoman.

According to the statement, however, "the rights to intellectual property must be recognized and respected in the form of fair remuneration" - also in order to be able to invest in the "further development of mRNA technology and new classes of life-saving drugs".

No injunction sought - vaccine can continue to be produced

The company said it was about asserting the “intellectual property rights from more than two decades of pioneering work in mRNA technology” that contributed to the development of corona vaccines.

Biontech has not yet commented on the allegations.

The district court also did not comment on the matter.

Curevac was considered one of the great hopes in the development of a Covid-19 vaccine, but suffered a serious setback because its own vaccine did not work as well as hoped - the project was stopped.

The company then lost massively in value on the stock exchange.

The Tübingen-based company is now working on an improved drug together with the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline - while Biontech and Pfizer continue to generate billions in sales with their vaccine.

However, the Tübingen-based company emphasized that it is not planning any injunctions that could impede the production, sale or distribution of Comirnaty.

Such a move could have disrupted the ongoing vaccination campaign.

Curevac, which was supported by the state with hundreds of millions of euros in tax money during the pandemic, employs more than 900 people at its locations in Tübingen, Frankfurt and Boston.

Apr/Reuters

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2022-07-05

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