French pharmaceutical company Sanofi has filed lawsuits against Pfizer and Moderna, claiming the companies used patented technology in their COVID-19 vaccines without authorization, Reuters reports.
The lawsuits, filed in a US federal court in New Jersey, concern lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), a technology used to deliver messenger RNA (mRNA) in vaccines. Sanofi claims the technology is covered by patents held by its subsidiary Translate Bio, which it acquired in 2021.
Sanofi is seeking financial compensation from Pfizer and Moderna but is not asking the court to halt sales of their COVID-19 vaccines.
The company alleges that Pfizer’s Comirnaty vaccine and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine use technology protected by Translate Bio patents. The legal action adds to a series of patent disputes between pharmaceutical companies over technologies used in the development of mRNA vaccines.
Pfizer and Moderna have faced several legal challenges related to COVID-19 vaccine technology, including disputes over intellectual property rights.
