May 17 (Reuters) - Moderna ( MRNA ) has won a case at

the European Patent Office in its dispute with Pfizer ( PFE )

and BioNTech over its COVID-19 vaccine, the company

said on Friday.

"We are pleased to announce that the European Patent Office

decided to maintain the validity of Moderna's ( MRNA ) EP949 patent, one

of the key patents currently asserted against Pfizer ( PFE ) and

BioNTech in various European national courts," Moderna ( MRNA ) said in

an emailed statement.

The company said it expects its opponents to appeal the

decision.

Pfizer ( PFE ) and BioNTech did not immediately respond to

Reuters' requests for comments.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil

D'Silva)