Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna gear up for 2024 London trial over COVID vaccine patents

London: Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE are gearing up for a 2024 trial with Moderna Inc at London's High Court in competing patent lawsuits over their rival COVID-19 vaccines.

The case reached London's High Court for the first time for a preliminary hearing on Thursday, ahead of a trial that is due to take place in April 2024.

Pfizer and BioNTech sued Moderna in London in September, seeking to revoke two of Moderna's patents in relation to its messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines.

Moderna brought its own lawsuit that month over Pfizer and BioNTech's Comirnaty vaccine, seeking damages for alleged infringement of its patents.

Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna are also engaged in litigation in Germany, the Netherlands and the United States. Moderna's German and U.S lawsuits, which were filed on the same day in August, both seek monetary damages. Pfizer and BioNTech are countersuing in the United States.

All three companies are also embroiled in U.S. patent disputes with other companies over the vaccines.

CureVac, which develops mRNA technology, is involved in patent lawsuits with Pfizer and BioNTech in Germany and the United States, as well as at London's High Court, where a trial is expected to take place in July 2024.

Germany's CureVac and Britain's GlaxoSmithKline have been in an mRNA-focused partnership since 2020.