PATENTLY ABSURD
AFTER all the laurels and accolades for developing a new-generation vaccine against COVID-19 at the height of the pandemic, the two competing companies that developed the mRNA jabs are facing off in a critical patent dispute. The outcome of the big-ticket litigation will determine how accessible the mRNA technology will be in developing future vaccines and therapies against a host of health hazards, ranging from influenza to cancer.
It took the industry by surprise when after a year of doing business peaceably and earning billions of dollars each, Moderna filed a patent infringement suit against its rival, PfizerBioNTech on August 26. BioNTech and Moderna had both developed their COVID-19 vaccines using the mRNA platform to attack the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While BioNTech, a biotechnology startup in Germany, tied up with multinational Pfizer for quick development of the Comirnaty vaccine, Moderna chose to go it alone to make its Spikevax vaccine.
Now, Moderna claims Pfizer-BioNTech has infringed three patents on its vaccine delivery system, which gets the drug inside a recipient's cells and generates a protein. In lawsuits filed in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf, where BioNTech is based, Moderna says that Comirnaty infringes patents it had filed between 2010 and 2016 covering the company's "foundational mRNA technology". It accuses its competitor of copying "this groundbreaking technology" which was critical to the development of its own Spikevax.
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In leading role again
MOVIES AND WEB SERIES ARE ONCE AGAIN BEING SET IN RUSTIC BACKGROUNDS, INDICATING A RECONNECT BETWEEN CINEMA AND THE COUNTRYSIDE
One Nation One Subscription comes at a huge cost
As top US universities scrap big deals with top scientific publishers, India’s ONOS scheme seems flawed and outdated
Return of Rambhog
Bid to revive and sell the aromatic indigenous paddy variety has led to substantial profits for farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Terai region
Scarred by mining
Natural springs of Kashmir drying up due to illegal riverbed mining
Human-to-human spread a mutation away
CANADA IN mid-November confirmed its first human case of avian influenza, with a teenager in the British Columbia being hospitalised after contracting the H5N1 virus that causes the disease. The patient developed a severe form of the disease, also called bird flu, and had respiratory issues. There was no known cause of transmission.
True rehabilitation
Residents of Madhya Pradesh's Kakdi village take relocation as an opportunity to undertake afforestation, develop sustainable practices
INESCAPABLE THREAT
Chemical pollution is the most underrated and underreported risk of the 21st century that threatens all species and regions
THAT NIGHT, 40 YEARS AGO
Bhopal gas disaster is a tragedy that people continue to face
A JOKE, INDEED
A CONFERENCE OF IRRESPONSIBLE PARTIES THAT CREATED AN OPTICAL ILLUSION TO THE REALITY OF A NEW CLIMATE
THINGS FALL APART
THE WORLD HAS MADE PROGRESS IN MITIGATING EMISSIONS AND ADAPTING TO CLIMATE IMPACTS. BUT THE PROGRESS REMAINS GROSSLY INADEQUATE
