By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) shares fell Wednesday after the company lost an appeal on a patent ruling involving Arbutus Biopharma Corp (NASDAQ:ABUS).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Appeals Board and Patent Trial decisions regarding two Arbutus patents concerning drug-delivery technology. Accordingly, the court dismissed Moderna's appeal for "lack of standing." The decision, which upholds last year's ruling, means Moderna could now face a patent infringement lawsuit.
Moderna shares are down over 8.6%, while Arbutus shares have almost doubled, currently up 90%.
One of the two patents involved is the 435 patent, which is shown to "stable nucleic acid-lipid particles comprising a nucleic acid, methods of making SNALP, and methods of delivering and/or administering the SNALP."
Moderna has previously said that if the claims were upheld, Arbutus could use a lawsuit to demand royalties for the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.