BERLIN—CureVac has filed a patent lawsuit in Germany against BioNTech over its use of mRNA technology, marking one of the first known cases of a company going to court amid the fierce competition to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus.
The German-based biotech company is seeking “fair compensation” from BioNTech and two subsidiaries for infringement of its intellectual property rights, it said on Tuesday.
When asked in a media call, Chief Executive Franz-Werner Haas did not rule out further legal action against BioNTech partner Pfizer or mRNA vaccine maker Moderna.
BioNTech said its work was original. “We will vigorously defend it against all allegations of patent infringement,” BioNTech said in a statement….