When COVID first hit, there was an urgency to get a vaccine. Some of the greatest minds of the world came together to look at the technology and the medicinal aspects that would allow people to get the protection they needed.
It wasn’t long before both Moderna and Pfizer came forward with vaccines. And both used mRNA as a way to deploy the vaccine in an effective manner.
No one cared what the formula was. It was tested, and the FDA determined that it could be used for emergency use. Suddenly, people were lined up to get the jab.
The COVID vaccine was a way to move forward past the pandemic. As more and more people became vaccinated, it allowed businesses and schools to open up. Life moved forward.
Now, it seems that there’s an issue. Moderna is suing Pfizer because of an infringement on patents.
Moderna is more concerned about money than making sure that any vaccine manufacturer had the ability to use the mRNA technology and create COVID-19 vaccines.
It would be easy to say that anyone who wanted it could have it. After all, this was what the entire medical community worked toward. Whether it was Moderna or Pfizer or anyone else who created it, it benefited millions, right?
Sure. Helping people was a plus. But now that vaccine sales are down and the threat of COVID has waned considerably, Moderna wants to make sure that it gets everything that it is owed – and, therefore, they have filed a lawsuit against not only Pfizer but also BioNTech for infringing on patents that had been filed from 2010 to 2016.
These patents all focused on mRNA technology – and that made it possible for them to develop the vaccine against COVID-19.
Here’s the thing. Moderna is going back on their pledge that they made in March 2022 where they would not enforce patents that related to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Apparently, they have decided that they were missing out on too much money. As such, they have reversed their decision – and have issued lawsuits.
Moderna isn’t looking to hurt the world over the lawsuit. They’ll allow the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine to remain on the market. They’re focused solely on the financial aspect. As Health Digest reported, the pharmaceutical company “is seeking damages for the sale of the vaccine after March 8, excluding sales to the U.S. government or the 92 low-income countries in the GAVI COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC).”
Shannon Thyme Klinger, the chief legal officer for Moderna explained, “We believe that Pfizer and BioNTech unlawfully copied Moderna’s inventions, and they have continued to use them without permission.”
Moderna isn’t accusing Pfizer of steaking any of the tech or intellectual property that was as a result of collaborating with the National Institutes of Health. Instead, they are saying that the mRNA chemical modification is the same as Moderna – and this is a full-length spike protein formula that was developed years before the emergency of COVID-19. However, the protein was designed to combat coronavirus in one form or another.
Moderna believes that they need to protect the mRNA technology because they spent billions of dollars creating it and patented it nearly a decade before the pandemic.
Is it possible that Pfizer and BioNTech stumbled upon mRNA on their own? Of course, though Moderna “remains confident” that their intellectual property has been stolen.
So, forget about the greater good. Forget about how many other health concerns could be addressed if all three pharmaceutical companies were able to use mRNA technology.
Moderna made their money and now, they want to make more, more, more. If it means that other health concerns can’t be addressed because of their greed, so be it.
