Patents

Branched meanings: Lexicography of ‘branched alkyl’ decides Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine patent dispute

Branched meanings: Lexicography of ‘branched alkyl’ decides Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine patent dispute

1 July 2025
By Suzy Madar, Emily King
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) recently decided that Moderna’s mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, SPIKEVAX®, did not infringe Alnylam’s patents because the cationic lipid used in the vaccine, SM-102, was not a cationic lipid with a ‘branched alkyl’ group.[1] The case turned on the proper construction of ‘branched alkyl’.
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China and United States see eye to IP

China and United States see eye to IP

7 February 2020
By Shelby Koh
On 15 January 2020, China and the United States (US) signed “Phase One” of the Economic and Trade Agreement (‘ETA’), signalling an armistice of the trade war that has significantly impacted two of the world’s largest economies (not to mention the rest of us).
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