When BioNTech agreed to acquire rival messenger RNA company CureVac in a $1.25 billion stock deal earlier this summer, some financial analysts said the buyout amounted to an out-of-court settlement of the patent litigation between the two companies. As the acquisition moves closer to completion, BioNTech and CureVac have reached a formal settlement of the patent spat, a deal that brings in the companies’ respective partners, Pfizer and GSK.

In litigation over the past two years, CureVac alleged the BioNTech and Pfizer vaccine for Covid-19 infringed CureVac patents based on its more than two decades of mRNA research. Under terms of the settlement announced Friday, CureVac will grant BioNTech and Pfizer a non-exclusive license to make and sell mRNA-based Covid-19 and influenza products

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