On August 22, Moderna announced that FDA approved its supplemental Biologics License Application (“sBLA”) for a new formula of their COVID-19 vaccine, SPIKEVAX®, for individuals 12 years old and above. Emergency Use Authorization (“EUA”) was also granted for the updated vaccine for individuals aged 6 months to 11 years old….
Back in May 2023, Alnylam brought suit against Pfizer and BioNTech in the District of Delaware, alleging infringement of patents directed to vaccine lipid nanoparticle technology. On August 12, 2024, Chief Judge Connolly issued a memorandum opinion construing the claim term “vaccine” in one of the asserted patents (U.S. Patent…
Acuitas Therapeutics Inc. (“Acuitas”) filed a complaint (1-24-cv-00816) on July 12 against Alnylam Pharmaceutical Inc. (“Alnylam”) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging incorrect inventorship of seven U.S. Patents related to COVID-19 mRNA-LNP vaccines, namely U.S. Patent Nos. 11,246,933 (“the ʼ933 patent”), 11,382,979 (“the ʼ979 patent”),…
Samsung Bioepis’ PYZCHIVA On July 1, Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. announced that the FDA has approved PYZCHIVA (ustekinumab-ttwe), a biosimilar referencing STELARA (ustekinumab). PYZCHIVA is approved for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for phototherapy or systemic therapy, active psoriatic arthritis, moderately to severely active…
Late last week, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA and GlaxoSmithKline LLC filed suit in the District of Delaware alleging that Pfizer, Pharmacia & Upjohn, BioNtech SE, BioNtech Manufacturing GMBH, and BioNTech US, Inc. infringe five U.S. patents directed to mRNA vaccine technology. The Patents-In-Suit are U.S. Patent Nos. 11,638,693; 11,638,694; 11,666,534; 11,766,401;…
We previously reported on the litigation brought by ModernaTX, Inc. and Moderna US, Inc. (collectively, “Moderna”) against BioNTech SE, BioNTech Manufacturing GmbH, BioNTech US Inc. (collectively, “BioNTech”), and Pfizer Inc. (“Pfizer”) related to Moderna’s mRNA technology and the subsequent inter partes review (IPR) petitions filed by BioNTech and Pfizer. Those…
As we kick off 2024, we reflect on regulatory developments in the biologics and biosimilars space in 2023. Below are some of the top regulatory developments from 2023. FDA Approvals In 2023, there were 23 FDA approvals of Biologic License Applications, including for Vertex’s CASGEVY and Bluebird’s LYFGENIA, the first…
Acuitas Therapeutics Inc. (“Acuitas”) filed a complaint on November 13 against CureVac in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging incorrect inventorship of four U.S. Patents related to COVID-19 mRNA-LNP vaccines and assigned to CureVac, namely U.S. Patent Nos. 11,241,493, 11,471,525, 11,576,966, and 11,596,686, (collectively, the…
FDA grants interchangeable designation to Pfizer’s adalimumab biosimilar – On October 5, 2023, Pfizer Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated ABRILADA (adalimumab-afzb) as an interchangeable biosimilar to HUMIRA (adalimumab). ABRILADA was originally approved by the FDA in November 2019. The new interchangeable designation was…
We previously reported on patent infringement litigations between Alnylam and Moderna. Below we provide updates on two proceedings involving the mRNA vaccine producer Moderna. First, in a patent action brought by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Alnylam”) against Moderna, Inc., ModernaTX, Inc., and Moderna US, Inc. (collectively, “Moderna”), the parties entered a…