Arbutus Wins Patent-Claims Ruling in Moderna Covid Vaccine Case

Arbutus Biopharma Corp. convinced a federal judge in Delaware to mostly adopt its proposed definitions of three disputed claims in six vaccine-delivery patents it alleges Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 shot infringes.

Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg, in an opinion issued Wednesday in the US District Court for the District of Delaware, agreed with Arbutus and co-plaintiff Genevant Sciences GmbH’s proposed construction of a claim that appears in five of the patents. The claim is related to the specific percentage of lipids—fat-like molecules—that are present in a tiny particle used for delivering genetic material like mRNA into cells.

Claim construction is a critical ...