SK Bioscience announced Wednesday that it has secured a definitive legal victory in its patent invalidation suit against Moderna, successfully challenging the biotech giant’s Korean patent related to messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine technology.
The contested patent covers “modified nucleosides, nucleotides, and nucleic acids and their uses” — a foundational component in mRNA-based therapeutics.
Moderna’s use patent had been the only registered intellectual property in Korea pertaining to mRNA manufacturing.
In 2023, SK Bioscience initiated legal proceedings to invalidate the patent, arguing that it lacked legal validity because it didn't meet the requirements in terms of establishing an inventive step, the process of corrections to the patent, and identifying who gets credit for related innovations. The Korean Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board ultimately ruled in SK Bioscience’s favor, declaring the patent invalid on all counts.
Moderna did not appeal the decision within the legally mandated period, thereby finalizing SK Bioscience’s win.
SK Bioscience stated that the legal action was a strategic move to eliminate barriers to innovation. The disputed patent was deemed to overlap with core technologies integral to SK Bioscience’s mRNA development programs, including its Japanese encephalitis vaccine candidate, GBP560.
With the ruling, SK Bioscience believes it has strengthened its position in the increasingly competitive global mRNA landscape, particularly amid ongoing patent disputes involving Moderna and other multinational biopharma companies.
“Our GBP560 project, which is currently undergoing global phase 1/2 clinical trials, marks a critical step not only in pandemic preparedness but also in establishing a versatile mRNA platform capable of addressing a broad spectrum of diseases,” an SK Bioscience official said. “This outcome reinforces our ability to expand our development pipeline and enhance global competitiveness.”
hykim@heraldcorp.com
