On July 23, 2020, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) ruled that Moderna Therapeutics Inc. failed to invalidate any of the claims in Arbutus Biopharma Corp.'s patent, known as the '069 patent, covering a drug delivery composition, leaving the ‘069 patent fully intact. The trading price of Arbutus shares more than doubled after the patent board posted its opinion on its electronic docket.  Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represented Arbutus in the matter.

Arbutus’ U.S. Patent No. 8,058,069 relates to a composition based on lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology that delivers nucleic acid payloads to allow the human body to make its own therapeutic proteins. The board had agreed to review the patent last July based on petition from Moderna.

LNP technology is crucial to Moderna’s vaccine development efforts, and the patent ruling could increase pressure on the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based firm to pay for a license to Arbutus’ patent portfolio, said Zachary Silbersher, a patent lawyer in New York not involved the case.

The Wilson Sonsini team that represented Arbutus Biopharma in the matter includes Michael Rosato and Sonja Gerrard.

For more information, please see a Reuters article covering the matter.