Battle of pharma giants: GSK sues Pfizer for patent infringement over RSV vaccine

British pharmaceutical companyGlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has opened up a front against American pharma giant Pfizer by filing a lawsuit in a Delaware court on Wednesday (August 2). GSKhas alleged that Pfizer infringed on its patent for the Respiratory Syncytial Cirus (RSV) vaccine.

According to the lawsuit, GSK said the New York-based company's RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, infringes four of its patents related to the antigen its shots use to fight the respiratory disease.

“Upon information and belief, Pfizer knowingly uses GSK’s claimed inventions in Abrysvo without permission,” GSK wrote in the complaint.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

According to the complaint, GSK noted that its vaccine was in development seven years prior to Pfizer's. The company is now demanding a jury trial and seeking monetary damages, including lost profits and royalties resulting from Pfizer’s alleged patent infringement. It has requested the judge to prevent Pfizer from manufacturing andselling its vaccine in the US.

The company argued that intellectual property protections are the "foundation of research-based companies' ability to drive innovation," and that the lawsuit should not affect GSK's ability to launch its vaccine Arexvy.

Watch | Violent tornado in US rips through Pfizer manufacturing plant

After the lawsuit, a Pfizer spokesperson told CNBC that the company is“confident in its intellectual property position and will strongly defend its right to bring its innovative” RSV shot to patients.

Race to secure the market

Notably, both companies have been competing in the tight race to tap into the RSV vaccine market which could easily exceed $10 billion by 2030, according to experts. Both companies received approval for their vaccines from theUS Food and Drug Administration in May for use in adults over age 60.

Both are the first vaccines approved to prevent RSV which causes an estimated 14,000 annual deaths in adults 65 or older in the US alone.

Watch |Mankind pharma's Q1 highlights

The disease usually causes mild cold-like symptoms but can become fatal for more at-risk patients if not looked after quickly.

Notably, this is not the first instance when GSK has waged a legal battle against Pfizer over patent rights. In 2016, the British company sued Pfizer in a court in Ireland, alleging patent infringement over themeningitis vaccine.

Last year, Moderna sued Pfizer and its German partnerBioNTech for patent infringement over its Covid vaccine. Later in the same year, Pfizer countersued Moderna.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE: