Oxfam says Moderna hid vaccine dispute from investors
Oxfam America has filed a complaint with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claiming that Moderna failed to inform investors that it was in a dispute with the National Institutes of Health over a COVID–19 vaccine patent.
The charity, which owns shares in the pharma company, announced yesterday, December 21, that it had filed the complaint on the same day which accused the pharmaceutical giant of “burying” critical information about the patent dispute from investors.
According to Oxfam, Moderna used “vague” language in its annual and quarterly reports about its patent dispute with the government rather than openly disclosing it in order to protect the value of its stock.
Diana Kearney, senior legal advisor for legal and shareholder advocacy at Oxfam America said: “Instead of being transparent and using its life-saving technology to help curb the pandemic, Moderna is doing the opposite, obfuscating its patent dispute with the US government, ignoring the death and suffering of millions worldwide, and declining to share their technology to help alleviate the stranglehold that COVID-19 has placed on the global economy.”
The dispute focuses on whether NIH researchers should have been listed as co-inventors on Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine patents.
NIH collaborated with Moderna in order to swiftly develop the vaccine last year. But when it came time to apply for patents to protect the inventions, NIH personnel were reportedly excluded from some of the patents.
In a statement on Friday, Moderna announced that it had “paused” its current efforts to secure patents for its COVID-19 vaccine in order to “allow time for discussions with the NIH”.
The statement said: “Moderna believes that its scientists invented the specific mRNA sequence at the heart of the patent in question. The company acknowledges that NIH feels equally strongly that its scientists should be listed as co-inventors for their contemporaneous work on the protein sequence.”
‘Misguided pursuit’
Oxfam also criticised the pharmaceutical company’s unwillingness to share vaccine technology as new variants of the coronavirus, claiming that this threatens to “drag down” returns for Moderna investors.
Kearney added: “Few times in history has a single corporation exercised such a massive influence on the world’s trajectory, impacting nearly all of humankind’s physical, mental, and financial health.
“In light of the company’s misguided pursuit of short-term profit over transparency for its investors, and the deadly consequences this may have for millions, Oxfam is calling on the SEC to investigate and help hold the company to account.”
