Pfizer stock crashed into its 50-day line Tuesday after German biotech CureVac (CVAC) sued its Covid vaccine partner, BioNTech, for patent infringement.
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CureVac says it filed a lawsuit in the German Regional Court in Dusseldorf against BioNTech (BNTX) and two of its subsidiaries. The lawsuit claims BioNTech violated four of its patents by manufacturing and selling Comirnaty, the Pfizer (PFE)-partnered Covid shot.
The lawsuit seeks “fair compensation,” but no legal action “that impedes the production, sales or distribution of Comirnaty by BioNTech and its partner Pfizer.”
On the stock market today, Pfizer stock tumbled 1.3% to 51.64, paring deeper losses during the session. BioNTech stock, on the other hand, jumped 2.2% to 161.03. CureVac stock dipped 1.1% to 14.09.
Pfizer Stock Tied To Covid Efforts
CureVac says its intellectual property “protects multiple inventions that are considered essential to the design and development” of Comirnaty. The intellectual property relates to the engineering of the messenger RNA molecules, modifications to enhance and stabilize the proteins involved, and the formulations specific to the Covid vaccine.
The company lauded the rapid development of the Covid vaccines. Developing the vaccine has helped Pfizer stock mostly trend higher over the last two years.
But the company also said “CureVac’s intellectual property rights need to be acknowledged and respected in the form of a fair compensation to reinvest into future advancement of mRNA technology and the ongoing development of new classes of lifesaving medicines.”
Other Patent Suits In Play
CureVac is far from the only biotech to sue one of the Covid vaccine makers.
Both Moderna (MRNA) and Pfizer are facing rivals in court over the delivery mechanisms for their Covid vaccines. The vaccines use fatty droplets called lipid nanoparticles to deliver instructions to the immune system. Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) say these delivery systems violate their patents.
Despite the downward pressure Tuesday, Pfizer stock is still consolidating with a buy point at 61.81, according to MarketSmith.com.
Representatives of Pfizer and BioNTech didn’t immediately return requests for comment from Investor’s Business Daily.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
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