BioNTech settles Covid-19 patent dispute with CureVac

Shidonna Raven
2 hours ago
3 min read

August 8, 2025

Photo / Image Source: Unsplash,

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BioNTech settles Covid-19 patent dispute with CureVac UK’s GSK will receive $370mn and 1% of sales of some vaccines as part of the deal BioNTech plans to acquire CureVac in a deal valued at about $900mn © Getty Images BioNTech settles Covid-19 patent dispute with CureVac on x (opens in a new window) BioNTech settles Covid-19 patent dispute with CureVac on facebook (opens in a new window) BioNTech settles Covid-19 patent dispute with CureVac on linkedin (opens in a new window) Save current progress 0% Hannah Kuchler in London PublishedAUG 8 2025 4 Print this page Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Pharmaceuticals sector myFT Digest -- delivered directly to your inbox. BioNTech has agreed to pay UK drugmaker GSK royalties on its Covid-19 and influenza vaccines as part of a patent settlement with CureVac, in a deal that allows the biotech to move forward with the purchase of its German rival. Vaccine makers used messenger RNA, known as mRNA, to discover and develop the Covid-19 shots in record time during the pandemic. But their success quickly descended into battles over who held the key patents on the novel technology, which teaches the body’s immune system to recognise part of the genetic code of the virus. Under the new deal, GSK will receive $370mn upfront and 1 per cent of all US sales of the Covid-19, flu, and any combination vaccines from the start of 2025. The payments are due to the UK-based drugmaker’s partnership to develop mRNA vaccines with CureVac, another German biotech, which BioNTech plans to acquire in an all-share deal that would give the company an enterprise value of about $900mn. During the pandemic, GSK contributed its adjuvant — a technology that boosts the efficacy of some vaccines — to other vaccine makers’ shots, but did not develop its own. The company, which has traditionally been a leader in vaccines, then signed a partnership with CureVac to catch up on mRNA technology and create its own Covid-19 jab. Last year, it fully licensed programmes from CureVac, including a Covid-19 vaccine and two flu vaccines in phase 2 trials, and a combination of Covid-19 and flu in phase 1. Since 2022, CureVac has been suing BioNTech, arguing that the rival had been “standing a bit on our shoulders” and infringed vital patents relating to mRNA technology. BioNTech and its partner Pfizer produced the first approved vaccines using the technology, generating billions of dollars in sales. But sales of the Covid-19 jab have been falling as take-up is now often limited to only the oldest and most vulnerable people.

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