Image Source: SK Bioscience Official Website

 

 

[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] SK Bioscience has announced a definitive legal victory in its patent dispute with Moderna over messenger RNA (mRNA) technology in South Korea.


The dispute centered on Moderna’s patented technology titled “Modified Nucleosides, Nucleotides, and Nucleic Acids and Their Uses,” which was the only registered patent in Korea related to the manufacture of mRNA-based vaccines.


In 2023, SK Bioscience filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the patent. Following nearly two years of legal review, the Korean Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (IPTAB) ruled last month that Moderna’s patent lacks validity in terms of amendment legitimacy, priority, and inventiveness.


As Moderna did not file a revocation appeal within the designated period, the IPTAB’s invalidation ruling has been finalized, confirming SK Bioscience’s legal victory.



The now-invalidated patent was a key barrier for SK Bioscience’s mRNA development pipeline, including its Japanese encephalitis vaccine candidate, GBP560. With the resolution of the legal dispute, the company expects greater flexibility in the development and commercialization of its mRNA-based products.

 

 

 

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