In the competition to develop a coronavirus vaccine, the Tübingen-based pharmaceutical company Curevac has suffered a defeat at the hands of its Mainz-based competitor Biontech.

Based on its patents, Curevac demanded a share of Biontech's profits, but was once again defeated.

On Tuesday, the Federal Patent Court (BPatG) in Germany declared a key coronavirus vaccine patent held by Curevac invalid and thus upheld a lawsuit filed by Biontech (judgement of 19 December 2023, case no. 3 Ni 23/22 (EP)). As a result, Curevac's share price fell by more than a third. Curevac announced that it would appeal to the Federal Court of Justice. The disputed patent was applied for in 2007 and granted by the European Patent Office for 20 countries in 2010. It relates to a process that overcomes the disadvantages of vaccines based on the messenger molecule mRNA and thus increases their effectiveness. The Federal Patent Court has now declared the patent null and void in Germany, with other national patent courts often following the decisions of the Munich court.

The background to this dispute is a legal dispute worth billions before the Düsseldorf Regional Court. The proceedings in Munich are only part of the conflict between the two companies, but are of crucial importance. In July 2022, Curevac sued Biontech and its US partner Pfizer for damages before the Düsseldorf Regional Court for alleged infringement of several patents. In these ongoing proceedings, Curevac is seeking ‘fair compensation’ for the infringement of its intellectual property rights that Biontech and Pfizer are alleged to have used in the successful development of its coronavirus vaccine.

The dispute has considerable financial dimensions: Biontech made a profit of 10.3 billion euros in 2021, while in 2022 the profit totalled 9.4 billion euros. The Düsseldorf Regional Court has suspended the proceedings pending there until 28 December in order to await the decision of the Federal Patent Court.

Curevac did not succeed in bringing its own coronavirus vaccine to market in time. Nevertheless, the company still sees itself as a pioneer in having discovered the potential of mRNA for treating diseases and producing vaccines.