Biotechnology company Moderna has announced a major settlement to resolve global patent litigation with Arbutus Biopharma Corporation and Genevant Sciences GmbH over technology used in its mRNA vaccines. The agreement settles all ongoing lawsuits worldwide related to the companies’ disputes.
Under the settlement terms, Moderna will make a lump-sum payment of 950 million USD in the third quarter of 2026. The deal also removes the requirement for Moderna to pay any future royalties linked to the disputed technology, providing clarity for the company’s vaccine portfolio going forward.
The litigation was connected to Moderna’s use of lipid nanoparticle technology in vaccines such as Spikevax and mRESVIA. The settlement also covers future infectious-disease vaccine candidates including mNEXSPIKE and mCOMBRIAX, ensuring that Moderna can continue developing its pipeline without additional royalty obligations.
Moderna stated that it will appeal a related court decision regarding government-contractor immunity. If the appeal does not succeed, the company could be required to make an additional payment of up to 1.3 billion USD depending on the outcome. However, the company said such a loss is currently not considered probable and therefore no additional charge has been recorded.
Following the settlement, Moderna expects to record a 950 million USD charge in the first quarter of 2026. Even after this payment, the company projects that it will end 2026 with 4.5 billion USD to 5.0 billion USD in cash and cash equivalents, maintaining strong liquidity for its ongoing vaccine and therapeutic programs.
According to CEO Stéphane Bancel, resolving this legacy matter from our pandemic response removes uncertainty and allows us to turn our full focus to Moderna's exciting near-term future. In 2026, we will return to revenue growth and end the year with a strong balance sheet, with more than 5 billion USD in liquidity, as we drive toward breakeven in 2028.
He further said that, this year we also expect the approval of our flu plus COVID combination and standalone flu vaccines, and several highly anticipated therapeutic clinical trial results in cancer and in rare disease. We remain focused on driving growth by delivering transformative medicines to patients.
