UK appeals court rules Moderna patent valid and infringed by Pfizer, BioNTech

Moderna (MRNA) announced that the UK Court of Appeal has upheld the validity of Moderna’s EP’949 patent. This decision affirms the High Court’s initial ruling from July 2024 that the EP’949 patent is valid and infringed by Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech’s (BNTX) COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty, which was subsequently appealed by Pfizer/BioNTech. With this ruling, the UK becomes the first jurisdiction globally to issue a second-instance decision confirming the validity of one of Moderna’s core mRNA patents. The High Court’s finding of infringement was not disputed by Pfizer/BioNTech on appeal.