CureVac says European Patent Office dismissed BioNTech opposition

CureVac (CVAC) announced that the European Patent Office has confirmed the validity of the company’s European patent EP 3 708 668 B1 subject to amendments to specify the scope of protection. The opposition division largely dismissed the opposition originally filed by BioNTech (BNTX) in April 2023 challenging the patent’s validity and maintained the patent in amended form, the company said in a statement. CureVac added, “The ruling represents a major milestone in the ongoing patent dispute between CureVac and BioNTech in Germany, which involves a total of six intellectual property rights. Following today’s ruling, the Regional Court Dusseldorf will decide whether the patent in its amended form has been infringed. An infringement hearing is scheduled for July 1, 2025. A positive infringement decision would trigger proceedings to assess damages in the same court.” Shares of CureVac are up 15% to $3.23 in premarket trading.