Bayer's agrochemicals unit Monsanto has filed lawsuits in the US against the manufacturers of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, claiming that they used its patent-protected technology in their products.

拜耳的农化部门孟山都已在美国提起诉讼，指控mRNA新冠疫苗制造商在其产品中使用了其受专利保护的技术。

One lawsuit – filed in a federal court in Delaware – asserts that Pfizer/BioNTech's Comirnaty and Moderna's Spikevax vaccines, which generated tens of billions of dollars in revenues during the pandemic, used technology developed by Monsanto in the 1980s designed to eliminate 'problem' coding sequences in the building blocks of cells 'to improve mRNA stability and the amount or quality of protein produced' in crops..

一起诉讼——在特拉华州的联邦法院提起——声称辉瑞/ BioNTech的Comirnaty和Moderna的Spikevax疫苗在疫情期间创造了数百亿美元的收入，这些疫苗使用了孟山都公司在20世纪80年代开发的技术，旨在消除细胞构建模块中的“问题”编码序列，“以提高mRNA的稳定性以及作物中产生的蛋白质量或质量”。

The technology was awarded a US patent in 2010 (No. 7,741,118) and is not due to expire until June 2027. According to the suit, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna used it to stabilise their mRNA vaccines.

该技术于2010年获得美国专利（编号7,741,118），并且预计要到2027年6月才到期。根据诉讼，辉瑞/拜恩泰科和莫德纳使用它来稳定其mRNA疫苗。

'To develop effective mRNA medicines, defendants needed to stabilise the mRNA molecule and optimise its protein expression,' it claims, adding that they 'optimised and manufactured their infringing mRNA vaccine products starting with a DNA template' and using Monsanto's patented process.

“为了开发生效的mRNA药物，被告需要稳定mRNA分子并优化其蛋白质表达，”诉讼声称，并补充道，他们“从一个DNA模板开始，使用孟山都的专利工艺优化并生产了其侵权的mRNA疫苗产品”。

Meanwhile, Reuters has also reported that Bayer independently filed a similar lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson in a New Jersey federal court, contending that a DNA-based process the company used in manufacturing its adenovirus vector-based COVID-19 vaccine also infringes the patent.

与此同时，路透社还报道说，拜耳公司也在新泽西州联邦法院对强生公司提起了类似的诉讼，称该公司在生产基于腺病毒载体的新冠疫苗时使用的基于DNA的工艺也侵犯了该专利。

The shot – known as the Janssen vaccine – won emergency authorisations in the US and other markets and made blockbuster sales in the pandemic before its use diminished due to concerns about rare clotting side effects. It was withdrawn from sale in the US in 2023.

该疫苗——即杨森疫苗——在美国和其他市场获得紧急授权，并在疫情期间取得了惊人的销售业绩，但由于对其罕见的血栓副作用的担忧，其使用逐渐减少。该疫苗于2023年在美国撤市。

While sales are well down on their peak, Comirnaty brought in worldwide revenues of more than $3.3 billion for Pfizer and BioNTech last year, with Moderna earning $3.2 billion from Spikevax.

尽管销量远不及峰值，但去年辉瑞和BioNTech的Comirnaty疫苗在全球范围内带来了超过33亿美元的收入，而Moderna则通过Spikevax获得了32亿美元的收入。

Bayer has said it does not intend to do anything that would restrict the commercial use of the COVID-19 vaccines – although that is already being achieved due to changing

拜耳表示，它并不打算采取任何会限制COVID-19疫苗商业使用的行动——尽管由于不断变化的环境，这一点已经实现了。

immunisation policies

免疫政策

in the US under the Trump administration – but is seeking damages 'in an amount adequate to compensate' for the infringement of its intellectual property and royalties on sales.

在美国特朗普政府时期——但正寻求“足以补偿”其知识产权和销售版税侵权的损害赔偿。

Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna have all said they are confident in the IP for their own vaccines and intend to defend the lawsuits 'vigorously.' J&J had not yet commented on its position at the time of writing.

辉瑞、BioNTech 和 Moderna 都表示对自己的疫苗知识产权充满信心，并打算“积极”应诉。截至撰写本文时，强生尚未对其立场发表评论。

The lawsuits are just the latest in a series of disputes over IP related to mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, with almost all of the companies that worked on the shots involved in

这些诉讼只是围绕基于mRNA的新冠疫苗知识产权的一系列纠纷中的最新一起，几乎所有的参与疫苗研发的公司都卷入其中。

suits and countersuits

诉讼和反诉

over the technology.

超过技术。

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