Financial Intelligence APP learned that on Wednesday, Northwestern University in the USA filed a new patent lawsuit against Moderna (MRNA.US) in the federal court of Delaware, accusing the company of misusing the school's innovative achievements to develop its blockbuster new Coronavirus vaccine, Spikevax.

The lawsuit claims that Moderna used Northwestern University's developed lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology in the Spikevax vaccine without permission, to transport fragile mRNA into the human body.

A spokesperson for Moderna stated that the company is aware of this lawsuit and will defend against these accusations. Lawyers and spokespersons of Northwestern University have not immediately responded to requests for comments.

This lawsuit is part of a series of US court litigations on technology patent royalties involving Pfizer (PFE.US), biontech (BNTX.US), and Moderna in the development of the new Coronavirus vaccines, including the lawsuit Moderna filed against Pfizer in 2022. On Tuesday, the UK pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.US) sued Moderna in the same court in Delaware, accusing it of misusing the company's LNP technology in Coronavirus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines.

Northwestern University stated that its researchers were the first to use LNP to deliver mRNA into human cells in 2009 and 2010. The university's lawsuit claims that the LNP in Moderna's Spikevax works the same way as its patented technology.

The school's complaint states, "Without drawing on technological breakthroughs from previous researchers, including Northwestern University, Moderna could not have made 'rapid progress' in vaccine development."

Northwestern University is requesting the court to compensate for the economic losses incurred by moderna's infringement, including an unspecified amount of royalties. It is reported that moderna generated revenue of $6.7 billion from Spikevax last year.