Canadian biopharmaceutical companies Arbutus Biopharma Corp. and Genevant Sciences sued COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna on Monday in Delaware’s U.S. District Court, alleging patent infringement.

Arbutus describes the patent infringement of “U.S. Patent Nos. 8,058,069, 8,492,359, 8,822,668, 9,364,435, 9,504,651, and 11,141,378 in the manufacture and sale of MRNA-1273, Moderna’s vaccine for COVID-19.”

William Collier, president and CEO of Arbutus, said that it does not wish to impede the manufacturing and distribution of Moderna’s vaccine. The company wants compensation for the patented technologies of Arbutus and Genevant that Moderna used to develop the vaccine.

“The patents relate to nucleic acid-lipid particles and lipid vesicles, as well as compositions and methods for their use,” a press release on the matter reads.

“We seek fair compensation for Moderna’s use of our patented technology that was developed with great effort and at great expense, without which Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine would not have been successful,” Collier said.

“Moderna denies these allegations, and will vigorously defend itself against Genevant's claims in Court,” Moderna responded to the lawsuit in a statement to Reuters.

According to the complaint, Arbutus and Genevant claim that Moderna knew about the patents for a while and still used the technology for their own benefit without compensation.

Both Arbutus and Genevant allege in the complaint that they would have preferred not to file a complaint and took multiple steps to avoid doing so by negotiating with Moderna.

“Unfortunately, Moderna has consistently declined to engage meaningfully in licensing discussion, necessitating this lawsuit,” the complaint reads.

The complaint also relies on statements made by Stephane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO, and the company’s co-founder, Robert Langer, who both acknowledged the contributions of these companies’ technologies in developing its COVID-19 vaccine as quickly as it did.

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