Moderna settles Covid vaccine patent suit for up to $2.25 billion

Moderna has agreed to pay Roivant up to $2.25 billion to settle claims that the mRNA vaccine developer infringed on Roivant’s patents in its Covid-19 shot.

Roivant will receive $950 million and then another $1.3 billion if Moderna’s attempts to have parts of its liability offloaded to the federal government fail upon appeal. If the full amount is paid, it will be among the largest patent settlements in history. 

“It is probably the largest ever,”  said Jacob Sherkow, a professor of law and medicine at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign.