GlaxoSmithKline is suing Moderna for allegedly using technology patented by GSK in its COVID-19 vaccine. Why it matters: It's the latest in a series of legal fights over who owns the intellectual property behind mRNA technology and whether some companies are entitled to royalties on future sales.

Northwestern University has filed a lawsuit against Moderna, alleging the company used its patented lipid nanoparticle technology without permission in the development of its COVID-19 vaccines.

Northwestern University sued vaccine maker Moderna, Inc. on Wednesday, October 16, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging infringement of three patents the school says cover technology key to the delivery method for Moderna’s groundbreaking messenger-RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine.

Moderna was hit with a new patent lawsuit on Wednesday in Delaware federal court from Northwestern University, which accused the company of misusing the school's innovations to develop its blockbuster COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax.

Nearly six months after lodging a similar complaint against Pfizer and BioNTech over the partners’ COVID shot Comirnaty, GSK is targeting Moderna in a pair of lawsuits alleging the Massachusetts-ba | GSK is targeting Moderna in a pair of lawsuits claiming the mRNA specialist violated multiple patents with its vaccines Spikevax and mRESVIA.

A British drugmaker, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has sued American pharmaceutical company Moderna claiming it violated patent rights in its mRNA technology used to develop its COVID-19 and RSV vaccines.