Rothwell Figg partner Dan Shores is quoted in coverage of the settlement between Moderna Inc. and Arbutus Biopharma Corp. and Genevant Sciences GmbH concerning lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology used in Moderna’s Spikevax® COVID-19 vaccine.
The agreement resolves litigation over the patented delivery technology used in mRNA vaccines while preserving a key legal issue for appeal. Under the settlement, Moderna will pay $950 million and may pay up to an additional $1.3 billion depending on the outcome of its appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit regarding the government-contractor defense under 28 U.S.C. § 1498.
Commenting on the case developments, Dan noted that recent rulings ahead of the scheduled jury trial "gave each side good reason to question their chances of success, which no doubt drove the calculus of the settlement terms." He added that while the rulings narrowed the issues for trial, jurors would still have been required to resolve complex technical questions about whether Moderna’s vaccine formulation fell within the asserted patent claims and "putting those issues before a jury carries tremendous risk for both sides.”
The article, “Moderna Vaccine Patent Deal Sets Up High-Stakes Immunity Appeal,” is authored by Christopher Yasiejko for Bloomberg Law.
