Pfizer, Moderna Again Sued by Alnylam Over Covid Vaccine Tech

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. expanded legal battles against makers of two Covid-19 vaccines, alleging that shots by business partners Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE and by Moderna Inc. deliver the treatments using technology covered by a patent issued earlier Tuesday, according to two federal lawsuits in Delaware.

The US Patent and Trademark Office issued Patent No. 11,382,979 to Alnylam, according to complaints in the US District Court for the District of Delaware. The patent claims a class of lipid nanoparticles that contain certain cationic biodegradable lipids for use in delivering a nucleic acid, including mRNA, the suits say.

Alnylam says its ...