Photo: ANP
British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has sued biotechnologist BioNTech and pharmaceutical company Pfizer in the United States. According to GSK, the two companies have infringed patents surrounding mRNA technology, which has been used to develop corona vaccines.
This concerns GSK’s patent rights to technological innovations that were developed “more than ten years” before the outbreak of the corona pandemic, the British company says. According to GSK, the technology captured in the proprietary rights provided the basis for the corona vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech. The British company reports through a spokesperson that it is willing to issue licenses “on commercially reasonable terms and to ensure that patients continue to have access” to the injections.
GSK has also asked the American court for compensation, among other things. The amount of that compensation is not known. Pfizer has already indicated that it plans to “vigorously defend itself” against GSK’s allegations.
There are several ongoing lawsuits over the ownership rights of mRNA technology. Pfizer and BioNTech are also involved, as is Moderna.
