12:36 PM EDT, 10/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with details throughout.)

GSK (GSK) filed a lawsuit against Moderna ( MRNA ) in Delaware federal court, alleging that Moderna's ( MRNA ) COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax infringed on GSK's patent rights related to messenger RNA technology.

The suit claims that Moderna's ( MRNA ) lipid nanoparticles, which facilitate mRNA transport into human body, violate several GSK patents covering similar innovations, according to a copy of the lawsuit available to MT Newswires.

According to GSK, a team of scientists led by vaccinologist Christian Mandl developed a platform that ultimately provided the foundation for Moderna's ( MRNA ) mRNA vaccine portfolio. But the company "consistently failed to acknowledge how it applied the Mandl team's revolutionary platform" to produce its original Spikevax vaccine and modify it to address new viral strains, GSK said.

GSK said it was looking to recover a "reasonable royalty" for Moderna's ( MRNA ) alleged infringement of its patents.

Meanwhile, Moderna ( MRNA ) told MT Newswires it was aware of the litigation and that it would defend itself against the claims.

GSK shares were up 0.1% and MRNA was up 0.2% in recent trading.

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