What the Moderna NIH COVID vaccine patent fight means for research

It was a testament to the power of collaboration: scientists at the biotechnology firm Moderna Therapeutics teamed up with government researchers at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to swiftly produce one of the world s first successful COVID-19 vaccines.

But a boiling patent dispute between the collaborators also showcases the complexities of teamwork, as the two groups battle over whether NIH researchers were unfairly left off as co-inventors on a pivotal vaccine patent application.

The stakes are high. Moderna, which is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has projected that it will make up to US$18 billion on its COVID-19 vaccine this year. Inventor status could enable the NIH to collect royalties potentially recouping some of its investment of taxpayer money and to license the patent as it sees fit, including to competing vaccine makers in low- and middle-income countries, where vaccines are still painfully scarce.

via www.nature.com