CureVac and GSK settle patent dispute with Pfizer and BioNTech over mRNA vaccine technology

The patent dispute between the parties has been going on since July 2022, when CureVac filed a lawsuit alleging intellectual property infringement. “CureVac’s intellectual property portfolio protects multiple inventions that are considered important, in particular, for the design and development of BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine against SARS CoV-2. These relate to the design of mRNA molecules, including sequence modifications to improve stability and enhance protein expression, as well as mRNA vaccine formulations specific for SARS CoV-2 vaccines,” the plaintiff said three years ago.

Although CureVac and GSK's own mRNA vaccine did not reach the market during the pandemic, the partners continued to test the technology to create influenza drugs and combination vaccines.

The deal comes two months after BioNTech announced plans to acquire CureVac for $1.25 billion, and is intended to boost its work in mRNA therapies, particularly for cancer. If the deal is completed, it would also end the companies' legal battles outside the U.S., with GSK receiving an additional $130 million and royalties on sales outside the U.S.

Under the terms of the agreement, CureVac will grant Pfizer and BioNTech a non-exclusive license to manufacture, use, import, and sell mRNA products against COVID-19 and influenza in the United States. GSK's share of the payments will be $370 million, of which $50 million will be used to adjust the terms of the license agreement with CureVac signed in 2024.

In August 2022, Moderna also filed lawsuits against BioNTech and Pfizer. The company accused them of violating its patent rights in the production of a coronavirus vaccine. Moderna claims that the Comirnaty vaccine, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, violates the company's patents on mRNA technology for producing vaccines. "At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, neither Pfizer nor BioNTech had experience developing mRNA vaccines against infectious diseases," the company noted, arguing that competitors copied their technology without permission.

In 2024, the London High Court ruled that one of Moderna's patents, related to messenger RNA technology, was valid and that Comirnaty's vaccine infringed it, meaning Moderna was entitled to damages for sales after March 2022. In August 2025, the London Court of Appeal rejected an appeal by Pfizer and BioNTech against that decision.