A patent blow for Moderna and its Covid-19 vaccine

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office yesterday denied Moderna’s claim that a patent held by a rival messenger RNA company, Arbutus, was invalid, STAT’s Damian Garde writes. And that could have implications for the Cambridge, Mass.-based company's Covid-19 vaccine.

In a worst-case scenario for Moderna, Canada-based Arbutus could file an injunction to block sales of the Covid-19 vaccine, which is set to enter Phase 3 trials later this month.

It could also mean Moderna might have to negotiate a licensing agreement — which could mean hundreds of millions of dollars for Arbutus. Moderna’s share price dropped 10% on the news — about $3 billion in market value.