BionTech to pay Curevac, GSK $ 740 million plus fees to set up the patent disputes of the mRNA

When BionTech agreed to acquire a rival company of RNA Messenger Curevac in a share agreement of $ 1.25 billion earlier this summer, some financial analysts said that the acquisition was equivalent to a regulation outside the ground for the certificate in patent between the two companies. As the acquisition is closer to completion, Biontech and Curevac have reached an official patent spit, an agreement that brings the respective partners of companies, Pfizer and GSK.

In dispute over the past two years, Curevac has allegedly alleged that the BionTech and Pfizer vaccine for Curevac rapes of COVVI-19 vaulted depending on its more than two decades of research on mRNA. Under the terms of the regulation announced on Friday, Curevac will grant Biontech and Pfizer an non-exclusive license to manufacture and sell COVVI-19 and flu based on the American market. This license will extend to a global license to close the acquisition by Biontech de Curevac.

Beyond the license, Biontech will pay $ 370 million GSK plus a 1% royalty on American sales of license from January 1, 2025. GSK said that these payments are due to the company under its existing agreement with Curevac. GSK will receive $ 320 million from the initial cash regulations. The rest will be considered a payment of $ 50 million GSK in Curevac, which, according to Curevac, is to monetize part of the product fees due under a license agreement in 2024. This agreement gave the GSK global rights of an avian candidate on the flu vaccine from their partnership. GSK has also obtained all rights on a seasonal flu vaccine and a COVVI-19 vaccine.

After closing Curevac by BionTech, Biontech will pay GSK still $ 130 million and a royalty of 1% on rest sales. These fee payments also have a start date of January 1, 2025. BionTech said that Pfizer had agreed to reimburse it for $ 80 million and half of the features claimed at GSK for the sale of COVVI-19-based products based on mRNA.

Biontech and Curevac are each of the German companies that started their research on cancer mRNA. The coco-19 coco-19 pandemic brought them both to focus on vaccines for the new coronavirus. Their fortune diverged from there. While Biontech and Pfizer partner then developed the first authorized, then approved, Cumirnaty, Curevac efforts failed in clinical tests. With the income of Cumirnaty, BionTech continued to build a diversified pipeline, including a large alliance of cancer R&D with Bristol Myers Squibb which was unveiled in June.

Meanwhile, Curevac returned to its cancer roots without a partner and with a smaller and less advanced pipeline compared to Biontech. Despite this, Curevac had been looking for mRNA for longer than its German counterpart, and its pursuit in 2022 claimed that Cournaty had broken several key patents from the Curevac mRNA. While Curevac said that he did not want to stop the production and distribution of the Biontech and Pfizer vaccine, its pursuit requested “fair compensation”.

The acquisition agreement announced in June occurred after key court decisions in Europe have confirmed the validity of two Curevac patents. Leerrink Partners analysts noted that BionTech was faced with the risk of having to pay rear royalties out of approximately $ 32 billion in Cournaty sales. Biontech savings regulations for a large part of this financial burden. The parties also filed documents rejecting the rejection of the patent counterfeit case to the Virginia Federal Court. The regulations release Biontech and Pfizer from all the affirmations that they have broken the work by Curevac with GSK. This version will apply worldwide after the end of the acquisition.

Biontech said that the regulation does not constitute a liability admission with regard to the allegations raised by Curevac or GSK, which the company expressly denies. However, GSK said the regulation does not affect its own patents against Pfizer and Biontech in the United States and Europe.

“GSK will continue its dispute against Biontech and Pfizer for violation of GSK patents,” said the pharmaceutical giant in a separate announcement.

The acquisition agreement obliges shareholders representing at least 80% of Curevac shares to subject their shares. In June, BionTech said that shareholders representing 36.7% of Curevac shares had agreed to offer these actions and to vote in favor of the agreement. The regulation brings the agreement closer to the number of necessary shares. GSK said that in parallel with the settlement agreement, he had concluded a customary tender and support agreement under which he submitted his 16.6 million Curevac shares in the upcoming offer, which represents around 7.4% of the shares in circulation, according to the annual mRNA report. The acquisition should close by the end of this year.

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