mRNA rivals call truce as BioNTech prepares CureVac takeover

After years of sparring in court, CureVac and GSK have struck a $740 million settlement with Pfizer and BioNTech, ending a transatlantic dispute over the mRNA technology that shaped the COVID-19 response. The truce, three years in the making, comes just weeks after BioNTech agreed to acquire CureVac in a $1.25 billion all-stock deal, a move designed to sharpen its push into mRNA-based cancer therapies.

The agreement delivers immediate cash and a share of future U.S. vaccine revenues to CureVac and GSK, while clearing one of the last legal hurdles to BioNTech’s takeover. CureVac will grant its rivals a non-exclusive licence to make and sell mRNA COVID-19 and influenza products in the U.S., effectively formalising access to the contested technology.

For GSK, the windfall includes $370 million in direct payment and $50 million in adjustments to its existing licensing pact with CureVac. If the acquisition completes, GSK will pocket a further $130 million and enjoy extended royalties on non-U.S. vaccine sales—closing out litigation between the two German firms globally.

CureVac’s own bid to bring an mRNA COVID vaccine to market during the pandemic faltered, while BioNTech and Pfizer’s Comirnaty earned more than $40 billion in 2021 and 2022. Nonetheless, CureVac and GSK have kept the technology alive in the lab, targeting flu shots and combination vaccines.

Notably, GSK’s other patent battles with Pfizer and BioNTech—in both the U.S. and Europe—remain very much alive. The courtroom doors may be closing on one fight, but others are still wide open.