CureVac provides update on trial dates for patent litigation

CureVac (CVAC) announced the latest trial dates for its ongoing patent litigation against Pfizer (PFE)/BioNTech (BNTX) in multiple geographies including the U.S., UK and Germany. The U.S. trial against Pfizer/BioNTech will take place on March 3, 2025, before the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia. A previously issued court recommendation to stay the proceedings for all 10 U.S. patents was withdrawn. The recommendation had followed a motion by Acuitas Therapeutics to intervene, sever and stay proceedings based on co-owner and co-inventorship claims. It was resolved after both companies reached a settlement in April 2024, which provided Acuitas licenses to several patents, including three out of four disputed U.S. patents. These three patents have been withdrawn from the U.S. patent litigation against Pfizer/BioNTech. In return, Acuitas acknowledges that CureVac is the sole owner of the disputed patents. Litigation in Europe will continue March 25, 2025, with a hearing on the validity of EP 3 708 668 B1, before the Opposition Division of the European Patent Office. The infringement action in relation to this patent was previously suspended pending the validity determination by the European Patent Office. In the German patent litigation against Pfizer/BioNTech, the settlement with Acuitas Therapeutics led to the withdrawal of two utility models covering equivalent claims to the three patents withdrawn in the United States. As previously announced, a hearing before the infringement court of Dusseldorf covering the European patent EP 4 023 755 B1 and the utility model DE 20 2021 004 130 U1, is scheduled for September 10, 2024. Furthermore, a trial in the UK has started on July 10, 2024. It is based on a declaration of non-infringement and request for revocation by Pfizer/BioNTech in the UK for the two CureVac patents EP 3 708 668 B1 and EP 4 023 755 B1. CureVac counterclaimed for infringement. A judgement is expected later in 2024. The trial for the further involved patent EP 1 857 122 B1 will be set for a later time point.