Full Press Release Details
CureVac Receives Additional Positive Validity
Decision from European Patent Office
in Ongoing Litigation Against BioNTech SE
T BINGEN, Germany/BOSTON, USA -
May 15, 2025 - CureVac N.V. (Nasdaq: CVAC) ("CureVac"), a global biotech 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 4 023 755 B1 subject to amendments to specify the scope of protection. This validity
decision marks the second time the EPO has ruled in favor of CureVac, having decided in March to uphold the validity of patent EP 3 708
668 B1 also in amended form.
Following today's hearing, the EPO opposition
division dismissed the oppositions and maintained the patent in amended form.
The ruling signals a positive development for
CureVac in the ongoing patent litigation with BioNTech in Germany. The dispute encompasses a total of six intellectual property rights.
With the validity of patent EP 4 023 755 B1 upheld in amended form, the Regional Court D sseldorf will decide whether the patent
in its amended form has been infringed. In the same hearing, taking place on July 1, 2025, the Court will hear the arguments on infringement
of EP 3 708 668 B1, with a decision to come at a later date. A positive infringement decision on either or both patents would trigger
proceedings to assess damages in the same court.
Like EP 3 708 668 B1, patent EP 4 023 755 B1 describes
split poly-A tail technology, which enhances medical efficacy by improving expression of the protein encoded on an mRNA construct, a foundational
invention of CureVac.
CureVac is represented in Germany by Oliver Jan
J ngst from Bird & Bird LLP and Andreas Graf von Stosch from Graf von Stosch Patentanwaltsgesellschaft and represented in the
U.S. by Mark H. Izraelewicz from Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP and John M. Erbach from Spotts Fain, PC.
CVAC) is a pioneering multinational biotech company founded in 2000 to advance the field of messenger RNA (mRNA) technology for application
in human medicine. In more than two decades of developing, optimizing, and manufacturing this versatile biological molecule for medical
purposes, CureVac has introduced and refined key underlying technologies that were essential to the production of mRNA vaccines against
COVID-19, and is currently laying the groundwork for application of mRNA in new therapeutic areas of major unmet need. CureVac is leveraging
mRNA technology, combined with advanced omics and computational tools, to design and develop off-the-shelf and personalized cancer vaccine
product candidates. It also develops programs in prophylactic vaccines and in treatments that enable the human body to produce its own
therapeutic proteins. Headquartered in T bingen, Germany, CureVac also operates sites in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland,
and the U.S. Further information can be found at www.curevac.com.
Media and Investor Relations Contact
Corporate Communications and Investor Relations
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subsidiaries CureVac SE, CureVac Manufacturing GmbH, CureVac Inc., CureVac Swiss AG, CureVac Corporate Services GmbH, CureVac Belgium
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