Moderna, Pfizer sued over technology developed by Scripps researchers that made COVID-19 vaccine possible

Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech were named in lawsuits Tuesday that accuse them of stealing a patented method developed by researchers from The Scripps Research Institute that made the COVID-19 vaccine possible. As of late Tuesday, Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit. The lawsuit filed against Pfizer and BioNTech alleges that in 2015, Promosome shared the technology with BioNTech scientist, Dr. Katalin Karikó, but neither company licensed the technology. Pfizer and BioNTech brought in $37.8 billion from sales of its COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty, last year. Multiple lawsuits have previously been filed related to the coronavirus vaccines and the technology that made it possible.