After swiftly developing its COVID-19 vaccine in 2020 and launching it late that year, Moderna soon found itself facing patent infringement lawsuits from biopharma companies large and small. Now, the vaccine maker can put two cases from Alnylam in the rearview mirror.
The companies agreed to resolve lawsuits Alnylam brought against Moderna for alleged infringement of mRNA vaccine delivery technology, according to Thursday filings in Delaware federal court.
Alnylam filed its first infringement lawsuit against Moderna in March 2022 and followed that up with separate cases in July 2022 and May 2023. The July 2022 lawsuit was later consolidated into Alnylam's first infringement case, court records show.
Now, the companies are ready to end the litigation, according to the filings. The companies said all claims in the cases should be dismissed with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled. Each party is bearing its own costs for the litigation.
The lawsuits were only part of the large web of COVID-19 vaccine patent infringement litigation filed against—and by—the most prominent vaccine makers. Alnylam sued not in an attempt to pull Moderna's shot off the market, but rather to secure damages.
At the time of Alnylam's first lawsuit, Moderna responded that the plaintiff "has engaged in what can only be seen as blatant opportunism—improperly expanding the scope of a ten-year-old patent in an attempt to stake a claim to unprecedented and meaningful innovations in the mRNA space."
Before the resolution of the cases, the judge in the Delaware cases twice ruled for Moderna, Reuters notes.
Alnylam also sued Pfizer for alleged infringement, and Pfizer prevailed in that matter this summer.