Moderna Royalty Opinion Loss Raises Covid-Shot Trial Stakes (1)

The exclusion of Moderna Inc.'s comparable-license royalty opinion at an upcoming trial in Arbutus Biopharma Corp.'s Covid-19 vaccine patent suit raises the stakes for its noninfringement defense, outside observers said.

Judge Joshua D. Wolson barred Moderna’s damages expert from presenting his reasonable royalty opinion and related noninfringing-alternatives analysis in a ruling issued Tuesday in the US District Court for the District of Delaware. The analysis concerned how the patented technology would be valued in a hypothetical negotiation.

A jury trial is set to begin March 9, with billions of dollars in Covid-19 vaccine revenue at stake. Arbutus and Genevant Sciences ...