When the pandemic began, Moderna Inc. and the cooperation of Pfizer Inc., and BioNTech were among the first to create a COVID vaccine.

Moderna is suing Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech for patent infringement about the development of the first US-approved COVID-19 vaccine.

The case, which seeks unspecified monetary damages, argues that the defendants duplicated technology created by Moderna years before the outbreak.

Moderna’s chief executive officer, Stephane Bancel, stated, “We are filing these actions to defend the breakthrough mRNA technology platform that we pioneered, spent billions of dollars developing, and patented in the decade preceding the COVID-19 epidemic.

Mr. Bancel stated that the company is continuing to research medicines for influenza, HIV, autoimmune and cardiovascular illnesses, and unusual kinds of cancer using this technology.

“We think that Pfizer and BioNTech illegally copied Moderna’s technologies and have continued to exploit them without authorization,” noted Shannon Thyme Klinger, chief legal officer of Moderna.

Moderna Inc. and the partnership of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech were among the first organizations to develop a COVID vaccine.

Moderna, which was only a decade old, was an inventor of the messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine technique, which teaches human cells how to produce an immunogenic protein.

The rapid development of the vaccine was made possible by the technologies that accelerated the vaccine approval procedure, which typically takes years to complete.

BioNTech, based in Germany, had been working on this subject before forming a partnership with Pfizer.

In December 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use approval for the partnership’s vaccination before approving Moderna’s vaccine a week later.

Moderna alleges that Pfizer/BioNTech copied their proprietary mRNA technology between 2010 and 2016, much before the emergence of COVID-19 in 2019.

In the early stages of the pandemic, Moderna stated that it would not enforce its COVID patents to assist others in developing their vaccines. However, in March of this year, the company informed Pfizer and BioNTech that it expected them to respect their intellectual property rights.

This year, Moderna’s vaccine has generated $10.4bn (£8.8bn) in revenue, while Pfizer’s has generated over $22bn (£18.6bn).

Pfizer and BioNTech “stole two categories of intellectual property.”

In a statement released on Friday, Moderna alleged that Pfizer/BioNTech stole two types of intellectual property, one involving the coding of a full-length spike protein and the other involving an mRNA structure.

“Pfizer and BioNTech conducted clinical testing on four potential vaccine concepts, including those that would have avoided Moderna’s creative path,” the statement added.

“However, Pfizer and BioNTech ultimately opted to move through with a vaccination containing the same mRNA chemical change as their vaccine.”

Pfizer and BioNTech are already facing various lawsuits from other firms alleging that the partnership’s attack infringes on their patents, but both corporations have stated that they will actively defend their patents.

Pfizer stated that the business has not been served and that they are now unable to respond.