American biotechnology company Arbutus filed a patent infringement lawsuit against global pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech in the New Jersey district court on Tuesday. The lawsuit alleges that the duo’s Coronavirus vaccine, developed with the help of the LNP delivery technology, infringes five of Arbutus’ patents. The firm is now seeking compensation for the use of such technology.
Shares of Arbutus slightly rose to $3.09 in the pre-bell trade. Besides Arbutus, Genevant Sciences, its licensee, has also been allocated damages over the patent infringement.
Commenting on the lawsuit, Arbutus CEO Mark J. Murray said, “BioNTech and Pfizer’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccines that use LNP Technology have been approved and distributed throughout the world. We are confident in our intellectual property rights and believe it is our duty to protect those rights, both for ourselves and on behalf of the scientific community and our licensees.”
Pfizer and BioNTech responded to Reuters’ request for comment with no immediate response.
About Arbutus Biopharma: Arbutus Biopharma is an American biotechnology company established in 2010. It focuses on developing therapeutics for various diseases such as chronic hepatitis B virus, as well as cancer. It is headquartered in Pennsylvania, United States.
About Mark J. Murray: Mark J. Murray is the Chief Executive Officer of Arbutus Biopharma. He is an experienced pharmaceuticals executive with over 35 years of leadership experience, designing and executing corporate strategies across several therapeutic areas. He has also served as a professor of medicine at the Northwell Health, serving in the same position for 28 years.
