Battle over COVID-19 vaccines reaches UPC as Promosome sues BioNTech

Promosome is suing on the basis of its patent EP 2 401 365, which protects reengineering mRNA primary structure for enhanced protein production (case ID: ACT 68533/2024). The US biotech company sees its property right infringed by the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty.

Promosome withdrew a similar lawsuit in the US. In 2023, the company filed a claim against BioNTech and Pfizer at the District Court of Southern California in San Diego over US patent 8,853,179. But in October of the same year, Promosome announced it would dismiss its case with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled.

Promosome pivots to Europe

According to the UPC register, however, Promosome filed a claim on 31 December 2024 at the Munich local division. The top-selling COVID-19 vaccine has already come under fire in pan-European lawsuits filed by Moderna and CureVac.

The second panel of the Munich local division, comprising presiding judge Ulrike Voß and judges Andras Kupecz and Daniel Voß, will hear the case. Ulrike Voß took over as presiding judge in the summer of last year, when the UPC appointed additional legally qualified judges due to the high caseload. She is also presiding judge of the Munich central division.

Well-established

Litigator and Munich-based partner Georg Rauh of Vossius & Partner filed the suit on behalf of Promosome. Lawyer and partner Philip Widera of the Düsseldorf office and patent attorney Florian Grasser are also advisors. The mixed law firm maintains the alliance Vossius Brinkhof UPC litigators for UPC proceedings. JUVE Patent does not know whether the case involves litigators from Dutch firm Brinkhof.

As in the national proceedings against Moderna and CureVac, a team from Hoyng ROKH Monegier is representing BioNTech. Düsseldorf-based partner Christine Kanz takes the lead. She works closely with Pfizer’s counsel Tobias Hessel of Clifford Chance. The two know each other well from Hessel’s time as partner at Hoyng ROKH Monegier. Together with other lawyers, he moved from the IP boutique to the international full-service firm Clifford Chance in early 2023.

In addition to the lead partners, the Hoyng ROKH Monegier team also includes associates Max von Leitner, Ling-Ling Dorsch, Lisa-Marie Rauschendorfer und Moritz Lohr. At Clifford Chance, counsel Thomas Misgaiski and associates Lisa Philipps and scientific adviser Andrea Abele are also working on the case. The latter is a biologist and also advises on technical issues.

BioNTech also retained patent attorney firm Zwicker Schnappauf & Partner. Partners Georg Schnappauf and Sebastian Höpfner are also involved in the national proceedings. A team from Powell Gilbert is also advising. The UK boutique is BioNTech’s regular advisor in the UK and conducts the national proceedings against CureVac. Patent litigators Joel Coles, Penny Gilbert and Tess Waldron are working on the UPC case.

All images of judges: ©Unified Patent Court