CureVac Receives Positive Validity Decision from European Patent Office in Litigation Against BioNTech SE

Issuer: CureVac / Key word(s): Patent CureVac Receives Positive Validity Decision from European Patent Office in Litigation Against BioNTech SE 27.03.2025 / 21:05 CET/CEST The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. CureVac Receives Positive Validity Decision from European Patent Office in Litigation Against BioNTech SE

• European Patent Office largely dismisses opposition filed by BioNTech SE in April 2023 challenging validity of EP 3 708 668 B1 and maintains the patent in amended form
• A hearing on infringement of EP 3 708 668 B1 is scheduled for July 1, 2025, before the Regional Court Düsseldorf
• Confirming validity of patent in its amended form marks major milestone in broader patent litigation in Germany, recognizing CureVac’s pioneering mRNA innovation

 

TÜBINGEN, Germany/BOSTON, USA – March 27, 2025 – CureVac N.V. (Nasdaq: CVAC) (“CureVac”), a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (“mRNA”), today announced that the European Patent Office (EPO) has confirmed the validity of CureVac’s European patent EP 3 708 668 B1 subject to amendments to specify the scope of protection. Following today’s hearing, the opposition division largely dismissed the opposition originally filed by BioNTech SE in April 2023 challenging the patent’s validity and maintained the patent in amended form.

The ruling represents a major milestone in the ongoing patent dispute between CureVac and BioNTech in Germany, which involves a total of six intellectual property rights. Following today’s ruling, the Regional Court Düsseldorf will decide whether the patent in its amended form has been infringed. An infringement hearing is scheduled for July 1, 2025. A positive infringement decision would trigger proceedings to assess damages in the same court.

“We welcome the decision of the EPO to uphold EP 3 708 668 B1 and remain confident that the patent is infringed in its amended form. Today’s decision marks an important step on our path that we expect will lead to recognition of CureVac’s major contribution to safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccines as the earliest pioneer in mRNA technology,” said Dr. Alexander Zehnder, Chief Executive Officer of CureVac. “This effort is a multi-step process in Europe and the U.S. We remain determined to have our contributions to the field of mRNA technology acknowledged and fairly compensated, and to continue making advances that expand the frontiers of mRNA-based medicines.”