The matter of Moderna v Pfizer and BioNTech currently involves six members of Three New Square and has been named by The Lawyer as one of the top 20 cases to be heard in England and Wales during 2024. The dispute is about whether Pfizer and BioNTech have to pay damages or account to Moderna for patent infringement in relation to their well-known COVID vaccine.
Andrew Waugh KC, Stuart Baran, Katherine Moggridge and Tim Austen are instructed by Laura Whiting and Chris Stothers of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for Moderna.
For Pfizer, Tom Mitcheson KC and Alice Hart have been instructed by Simon Cohen and Nigel Stoate of Taylor Wessing. Pfizer are disputing Moderna’s claims in a joint effort with German based biotechnology company, BioNTech.
A twenty-day trial is listed to take place in the High Court from 22nd April 2024 where the hearing will be split into two parts. First, a technical trial will consider whether the vaccine infringes a valid patent, second by a non-technical trial considering the legal effect of Moderna’s 2020 pledge concerning the use of its vaccine technology while the pandemic was ongoing.
