Moderna won’t enforce COVID-19 patents

Biopharmaceutical company, Moderna, has announced that it will not enforce patents related to its COVID-19 vaccine while the pandemic is ongoing, and that it is prepared to license the patents to others after the pandemic is over.

The announcement comes after the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and the Pentagon's research arm, The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) both confirmed last month they would investigate whether Moderna fully disclosed information on government funding in patent applications.

Moderna has seven US patents related to its vaccine against coronaviruses, including the one that causes COVID-19.

In a statement released on Thursday, October 8, Moderna said: “As a company committed to innovation, Moderna recognises that IP rights play an important role in encouraging investment in research. Our portfolio of IP is an important asset that will protect and enhance our ability to continue to invest in innovative medicines.”

It went on to add: “Beyond Moderna’s vaccine, there are other COVID-19 vaccines in development that may use Moderna-patented technologies. We feel a special obligation under the current circumstances to use our resources to bring this pandemic to an end as quickly as possible.”

Last month,  acting director of BARDA, Gary Disbrow, revealed in a letter, that the agency would probe the company in response to a complaint from Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), a nonprofit that focuses on the provision of access to medical technology.

According to a report  published by KEI on August 28, Moderna failed to disclose that it had received about $25 million in grants from DARPA to develop its technology in its vaccine patents to the US Patent and Trademark Office.

In a statement, James Love, director of KEI, welcomed Moderna’s move describing it as “very good” and called for other companies to do the same.

He pointed out, however, that a particular “nuance” within Moderna announcement was that the company held that its list of COVID-19 vaccine patents was only “representative” of the issued US patents relevant to the vaccine. He added that this “suggests that the list is not complete and does not extend to patent applications”.

He said: “It includes only one of the granted patents that KEI cited in our letter to DARPA regarding failures to disclose federal funding, and both DARPA and BARDA are investigating several applications and granted patents for failures to disclose federal funding.”

He also urged Moderna and other biopharmaceutical companies to participate in pools established by the World Health Organization and United Nations to ensure greater access to patents and technology.

“Every manufacturer of a vaccine, drug or diagnostic should follow suit and publish the patents relevant to the technology, waive or license rights in those patents, and provide constructive transfer of manufacturing know-how and access to cell lines and data when necessary,” Love said.

LSIPR has approached Moderna for comment.

Did you enjoy reading this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox.