Moderna will not enforce the patents it gained for its experimental COVID-19 vaccine and will license its COVID-19 vaccine intellectual property to other drugmakers after the pandemic is declared over, the drugmaker announced Oct. 8.
The drugmaker's announcement comes as concerns about COVID-19 vaccine and treatment access abound. The decision allows other drugmakers and governments to develop COVID-19 medical products based on Moderna's technology.
"We feel a special obligation under the current circumstances to use our resources to bring this pandemic to an end as quickly as possible," the announcement reads.
However, some consumer groups have expressed they do not feel the drugmaker's motivations are so pure. These groups presume the decision was made to eschew expensive patent litigation, as Moderna executives disclosed they were unsure if their company was the first to discover the inventions claimed in their patents during a securities filing in August, according to STAT.