CureVac stock plunges after German court rules against it in BioNTech patent challenge

CureVac (NASDAQ:CVAC) plumetted 28% after Germany’s patent courtroom invalidated a patent that as the premise of lawsuit the vacccine developer filed in opposition to its rival BioNTech SE (BNTX). BionTech ADRs rose 1.3% and Pfizer (PFE) superior 4%.

The patent is expounded to associated to messenger RNA techonology. The ruling implies that the patent ins’t legitimate in Germany, the nationwide’s Federal Paten Courtroom dominated on Tuesday.

CureVac (CVAC) plans to enchantment the choice, the corporate mentioned in an announcement on Tuesday.

“Whereas we don’t search to decrease the worth of mRNA vaccines in altering the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, we strongly consider that CureVac’s function in laying the scientific groundwork for these vaccines must be acknowledged,” CureVac mentioned within the assertion. “We’ll proceed to defend our declare for recognition and honest compensation and can take applicable motion by interesting this resolution.”

The German patent courtroom ruling comes after after a courtroom in Germany in September suspended the proceedings in a patent lawsuit that the German vaccine developer had filed in opposition to its native rival BioNTech (BNTX) over using mRNA expertise in COVID vaccines.

The patent infringement case filed in June 2022 is expounded to 5 IP rights that CureVac (CVAC) mentioned had been breached by BioNTech (BNTX), which, together with Pfizer (PFE), developed the world’s first mRNA-based COVID vaccine.

Whereas CureVac’s (CVAC) first-generation COVID-19 vaccine based mostly on the same expertise failed to achieve the market, Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) reaped billions of {dollars} in gross sales from their vaccine, Comirnaty.