“Acuitas Therapeutics and CureVac Settle Lawsuit Over COVID-19 Vaccine Inventions”

In a significant development in the biotech industry, Canadian firm Acuitas Therapeutics and Germany-based CureVac NV (NASDAQ:CVAC) have reached a settlement over a lawsuit concerning credit for inventions related to COVID-19 vaccines. The lawsuit was filed by Acuitas Therapeutics in a Virginia federal court in November 2023, accusing CureVac of failing to acknowledge Acuitas’ contributions on patents related to the vaccines.

Acuitas Therapeutics claimed that CureVac had excluded its scientists from patent applications for lipid nanoparticle technology. This technology is a crucial component in messenger RNA-based vaccines, which were developed collaboratively during the COVID-19 pandemic. Acuitas argued that this omission would enable it to license the patents without CureVac’s consent.

CureVac, however, refuted these allegations in a court filing made in February, as reported by Reuters. Prior to this, Acuitas had secured a separate license for the lipid nanoparticle technology used in the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX).

This settlement comes amidst a broader legal landscape where CureVac has accused Pfizer and BioNTech of patent infringement, including the patents relevant to the Acuitas case, in an ongoing lawsuit in Virginia federal court.

In July 2023, Pfizer and BioNTech sought a judgment from the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, asserting that they did not infringe patents related to the COVID-19 vaccine held by CureVac.

Adding another layer to the complex legal scenario, a German court invalidated a patent central to CureVac’s lawsuit against BioNTech in December 2023. The patent was related to seeking fair compensation for infringement of a portfolio of CureVac’s intellectual property rights utilized in Comirnaty, the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer. This ruling marked the first decision on validity in the ongoing patent litigation between CureVac and BioNTech in Germany, involving eight CureVac intellectual property rights.

In a related development, GSK Plc (NYSE:GSK) reportedly initiated legal action against Pfizer and BioNTech in a Delaware federal court on Thursday. The lawsuit alleges patent infringement concerning mRNA technology used in the COVID-19 vaccines. GSK contends that Pfizer and BioNTech’s Comirnaty vaccines violate GSK’s patents.

As of the last check on Friday, CVAC shares were down 0.65% at $2.29.

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