In August of this year, I reported that Moderna is suing Pfizer and BioNTech for infringing patents that are key to Moderna’s mRNA technology platform that was used to develop the covid vaccine.
In response, Pfizer has now countersued Moderna.
The ongoing legal battle now sees Pfizer and its partner BioNTech reject its rival’s claims it copied the shot.Pfizer has accused Moderna of rewriting history, and dubbed its lawsuit ‘revisionist history’.Manhattan-based Pfizer requested from a federal court in Boston that Moderna’s lawsuit be dismissed.Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, fired back at Moderna on Monday in a patent lawsuit over their rival Covid-19 vaccines.They are seeking dismissal of the lawsuit in Boston federal court and an order that Moderna’s patents are invalid and not infringed.
Pfizer asserts their vaccine technology was arrived at through independent research.
“Moderna is wrong, and its revisionist history is not based on fact. Pfizer and BioNTech did not copy Moderna’s technology,” Pfizer said in its response. “Rather, Pfizer and BioNTech independently developed their vaccine by utilizing innovation from their respective scientists and relying upon decades of research conducted by others before the pandemic began.”Pfizer said the modification to mRNA was developed by research scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, one of whom is now an executive at BioNTech. It rejected Moderna’s claim to own the full-length spike protein technology. Pfizer said scientists have worried about coronaviruses since the 2003 SARS outbreak and by 2009 scientists understood the full-length spike induced a strong immune response.
On the whole, the companies may be better served if they allow the other side to take credit. Between the complete lack of failure to prevent transmission or infection, less than 4% of Americans eligible for the bivalent booster opted to get one.
New statistics verify covid is here to stay, vaccine or not.
A survey of American adults found that nearly half reported having been infected with COVID-19 at least once, with 35% saying they have tested positive more than once. The report also revealed that a substantial majority of Americans have not yet received the latest bivalent booster shot….The study found that the rate of COVID-19 infections is vastly underreported, with about 48% of all positive cases not reflected in official data. Among the survey respondents who tested positive for COVID-19 during the past three months, 76% used an at-home or rapid test. Among those who tested positive, just 36% followed up with a test at their doctor’s office or a testing facility (92% of whom tested positive again there), compared to 63% who did not.Unvaccinated individuals were more likely to say they have never taken an at-home test for COVID-19, further suggesting that infections among the unvaccinated may also be going unreported.
My bet is that a vast number of Americans continued their regular routine while experiencing covid symptoms. They didn’t test, and they didn’t slow down much.
However, these results have not stopped Moderna from marketing a new anti-cancer vaccine that is based on mRNA technology.
An experimental cancer vaccine from Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) based on the messenger RNA (MRNA) technology used in successful COVID-19 vaccines has been shown to work against melanoma, sending Moderna shares more than 20% higher and driving up of other biotechs working on similar treatments.A combination of Moderna’s personalized cancer vaccine and Merck & Co’s (MRK.N) blockbuster immunotherapy Keytruda cut the risk of recurrence or death of the most deadly skin cancer by 44% compared with Keytruda alone in a mid-stage trial, the companies said on Tuesday.The result was considered a “statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement,” the companies said.
Here’s hoping the anti-cancer vaccine works out better for everyone…especially the patients.
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