LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) - London's High Court on

Tuesday ruled that one of Moderna's ( MRNA ) patents relating to

technology key to the development of vaccines for COVID-19 was

invalid, but that another was valid and had been infringed by

Pfizer ( PFE ) and BioNTech's rival vaccine.

Pfizer ( PFE ) and its German partner BioNTech

sued Moderna ( MRNA ) at London's High Court in September 2022,

seeking to revoke two patents held by Moderna ( MRNA ), which hit back

days later alleging its patents had been infringed.

The High Court ruled that one of Moderna's ( MRNA ) two patents

relating to messenger RNA (mRNA) technology was invalid, but

that another similar patent was valid and that Pfizer ( PFE ) and

BioNTech's Comirnaty vaccine had infringed it.

Tuesday's ruling is the latest in a global legal battle,

with parallel proceedings in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium

and the United States, as well as in Ireland and at the European

Patent Office.