Reutrs: [Moderna could be sued over vaccines as court upholds Arbutus patents] but read further down the article: [Jefferies analyst Dennis Ding said an infringement lawsuit was possible, but could drag for years, adding that Arbutus will likely settle for a small royalty. "When you're thinking about the revenue opportunity from the vaccine, so just like $10 (billion) to $20 billion annually, a small low-single-digit royalty is immaterial to Moderna," he said.]

Moderna's earlier candidates with some exceptions, such as the AZD8601 with Astrazeneca, are more susceptible to the ruling.

If anything, the mRNA-1273 is one of the least likely to be affected by the patent because Moderna uses a modified version of the platform by opting to use an IONIZABLE LIPID "SM-102" instead of the CATIONIC LIPID stated in the Arbutus patent. But there are technical loop holes that Arbutus may use though to support their case.

In any case, it will be a long battle that will not likely hurt Moderna that much considering its huge success. GL.$Moderna, Inc.(MRNA)$ $Arbutus Biopharma(ABUS)$