Seoul, April 23 || SK bioscience, the biopharmaceutical arm of South Korea's SK Group, said on Wednesday it has achieved a "final victory" in a patent invalidation case against Moderna, the global developer of the messenger-RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine.
SK bioscience filed a nullity suit in 2023 challenging Moderna's patent on modified nucleosides, nucleotides and nucleic acids, as well as their uses, the company said in a press release.
Moderna's patent is the only registered patent in South Korea related to mRNA manufacturing technology, reports news agency.
SK bioscience had argued the patent "unfairly granted priority rights, which hindered the development of mRNA technology."
The disputed patent was considered critical in mRNA manufacturing and was relevant to SK bioscience's own work, including its development of an mRNA-based Japanese encephalitis vaccine candidate, GBP560, the release said.
SK bioscience has been developing this vaccine in collaboration with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a non-governmental organization founded by American billionaire Bill Gates.
CEPI has provided funding of US$357 million over the past few years to South Korea's private and academic partners, including SK bioscience.