The U.S.-based pioneer of mRNA-based pharmaceuticals claims Pfizer and BioNTech infringed its patents with their COVID-19 vaccine. Specifically, a chemical modification that averts an “undesirable immune response” to mRNA and a method “to encode for the full-length spike protein in a lipid nanoparticle formulation for a coronavirus.” Moderna said it proved those technologies worked in trials in 2015 and 2016. (The Logic)

Talking point: The company is aiming to commercialize numerous new vaccines and treatments based on its mRNA technology. Perhaps aware of the public-relations implications of suing over a vaccine that has already made all of them billions of dollars while the pandemic continues, Moderna said it will seek compensation only from Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine sales in wealthier countries since March 8, “when the collective fight against COVID-19 entered a new phase.” It’s also not seeking to stop its competitors’ vaccine from being sold.