Arbutus Soars, Moderna Falls After Patent Review Ruling (2)

Arbutus Biopharma Corp. more than doubled after it fended off a Moderna Inc. challenge to its patent on drug-delivery technology that some investors think could be used in vaccine development.

Moderna “has not demonstrated” that Arbutus Biopharma’s patent 8,058,069 is invalid, the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board said in an opinion posted on its electronic docket. Moderna dropped 9.5% to $75.33 in New York trading. Arbutus rose 120% in trading of 94 million shares, 55 times the three-month daily average.

Investors are betting that Arbutus could end up seeking royalties on vaccines, particularly one for the novel ...