On Wednesday (August 2), British pharmaceutical corporation GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) filed a case in a Delaware court against American pharmaceutical behemoth Pfizer. GSK claims that Pfizer violated its patent on the Respiratory Syncytial Cirus (RSV) vaccine. According to the lawsuit, GSK claims that Abrysvo, the New York-based company’s RSV vaccine, infringes on four of its patents pertaining to the antigen used in the shots to battle the respiratory ailment.
“Upon information and belief, Pfizer knowingly uses GSK’s claimed inventions in Abrysvo without permission,” GSK wrote in the complaint.
According to the complaint, GSK’s vaccine was under development for seven years before Pfizer’s. The company is now seeking monetary penalties, including lost profits and royalties, as a result of Pfizer’s alleged patent infringement. It has asked the judge to stop Pfizer from manufacturing and distributing its vaccine in the United States.
The business stated that intellectual property protections are the “foundation of research-based companies’ ability to drive innovation,” and that the case should not prevent GSK from launching its vaccine Arexvy. Following the case, a Pfizer representative told CNBC that the firm is “confident in its intellectual property position and will vigorously defend its right to provide patients with its innovative” RSV shot.
Competition for market share
Notably, both businesses have been fighting in a close race to enter the RSV vaccine market, which analysts predict would certainly top $10 billion by 2030. In May, the US Food and Drug Administration approved both businesses’ vaccines for use in individuals over the age of 60.
Both are the first vaccines approved to prevent RSV, which is responsible for an estimated 14,000 fatalities in persons 65 and older in the United States alone.
The condition normally causes mild cold-like symptoms, but it can be fatal in more vulnerable patients if not treated swiftly.
Notably, this is not the first time GSK has gone to court against Pfizer over patent rights. In 2016, the British business filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pfizer in an Irish court, alleging patent infringement on the meningitis vaccine.
Last year, Moderna sued Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech for patent infringement over its Covid vaccine. Pfizer countersued Moderna later that year.