EPO Revokes Key Moderna Patent for mRNA Vaccines
核心洞察
The EPO Boards of Appeal revoked EP 3 590 949 (搜索), a Moderna mRNA vaccine patent that had been upheld at first instance.
Board of Appeal 3.3.08 issued the decision after a two-day oral hearing, with added matter cited as a likely factor.
The ruling removes patent grounds Moderna had used against BioNTech and Pfizer, though divisional applications and further litigation remain.
The European Patent Office (搜索) Boards of Appeal revoked EP 3 590 949 (搜索), a key Moderna patent covering mRNA vaccines (搜索) that the company had asserted against BioNTech and Pfizer. Board of Appeal 3.3.08 issued the decision after a two-day oral hearing, overturning the first-instance outcome in which the patent had been upheld.
The Board has not yet published its grounds, but JUVE Patent research points to the prohibition on added matter as a factor. The patent was revoked because the claimed subject matter went beyond the information in the original application, a stricter reading of the added matter rule than that applied by other national courts in Europe. The decision nullifies Moderna's earlier successes before national courts in London and Düsseldorf. Litigation had also concerned EP 3 718 565, whose revocation the Boards of Appeal upheld in January.
Further proceedings are expected. Divisional applications arising from EP 949 remain in play: EP 4 435 100 is at the examination stage, and EP 4 108 671 is in opposition. The UPC register lists a new action by CureVac, acquired by BioNTech, against Moderna at the local division in The Hague concerning EP 4 108 769 (case ID UPC-CFI-0001407/2026). Pfizer led the opposition, with BioNTech represented separately and several straw man opponents also attending the hearing.
Source: JUVE Patent