Proactive Investors - Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech have moved to countersue rival Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Therapeutics Inc in a legal battle over the development of each company’s respective Covid-19 vaccines.
Moderna sued the duo in August, accusing them of copying technology which it had begun developing in 2010, long before the pandemic, and ultimately sought damages for the breaking of three of its patents.
Pfizer and BioNTech have now responded by claiming Moderna issued patents that “far exceed its actual contributions to the field” in Boston federal court on Monday, saying it failed to recognise other institutes scientists’ work in the development of mRNA technology used in the vaccines.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based group was also accused of going back on its pledge to not sue other pharmaceutical companies during the pandemic, which Pfizer argued is still ongoing.
In August, Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel said: “We are filing these lawsuits to protect the innovative mRNA technology platform that we pioneered, invested billions of dollars in creating, and patented during the decade preceding the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Pfizer increased its annual forecasted sales of its Covid jab in early November, predicting US$34bn would be generated amid growing demand for its Omicron-targeted vaccine, after confirming sales worth over US$26bn in the first nine months of this year.
Moderna meanwhile, saw its vaccines generate significantly less in the same period, at around US$13.5bn.
Separately, Pfizer also faces legal action over its supply of Zantac and Nexium, which were found to have adverse side effects after being on the market for several years.
Zantac has been the focus of thousands of lawsuits aimed at Pfizer, after being proven to heighten the risk of cancer in patients, while suggestions are increasingly being made that Nexium causes kidney damage.