Overview
- Bayer filed patent-infringement complaints in federal court in Delaware against Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna, with a separate case against Johnson & Johnson in New Jersey.
- The company alleges the vaccine makers used technology first patented by Monsanto in the 1980s to stabilize mRNA, originally developed for agricultural applications.
- Bayer is seeking unspecified financial damages and is not asking the courts to restrict or halt vaccine sales.
- The filings introduce Bayer as a new player in COVID-19 vaccine intellectual-property litigation, and no public responses from the defendants were reported.
- Pfizer/BioNTech’s Comirnaty generated about $3.3 billion in 2024 revenue and Moderna’s Spikevax about $3.2 billion, underscoring the potential scale of any damages.