Pfizer v Moderna COVID vaccine patents battle to go to appeal in UK

LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Pfizer and Moderna's legal battle over their rival COVID-19 vaccines will continue after London's High Court on Wednesday gave Pfizer permission to take the case to the Court of Appeal.

Pfizer (PFE.N) and its German partner BioNTech (22UAy.DE) sued Moderna (MRNA.O) in London in September 2022, seeking to revoke two patents held by Moderna, which hit back days later alleging its own patents had been infringed.

The High Court gave a mixed ruling in July, ruling that one of Moderna's two patents relating to the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology that underpinned its COVID-19 vaccine was invalid.

But the court ruled another similar patent was valid and that Pfizer and BioNTech's Comirnaty vaccine had infringed it, meaning Moderna is entitled to damages in relation to sales after March 2022.

Judge Richard Meade gave Pfizer and BioNTech permission to appeal against that decision on Wednesday. The issue of any damages owed to Moderna is on hold pending their appeal.

Moderna was refused permission to appeal in relation to its patent which was found to be invalid, but the company can still apply directly to the Court of Appeal.

The London lawsuits are just one leg of a global battle between Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna, which have also been involved in proceedings in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United States, as well as at the European Patent Office.