LONDON (Reuters) – Pfizer on Monday won a bid in a London court to invalidate two of GSK’s patents relating to a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine.
The two pharmaceutical giants are among a number of companies in competition for a vaccine for RSV, which typically causes cold-like symptoms but is also a leading cause of pneumonia in toddlers and older adults.
GSK separately sued Pfizer in the United States last year, alleging Pfizer’s vaccine violates GSK’s patent rights in its RSV shot Arexvy.
A GSK spokesperson said the ruling “has no impact on our ability to launch and market Arexvy anywhere in the world, including in the UK”.
“We continue to believe our patents are valid and infringed by Pfizer and will seek to appeal this decision,” the spokesperson added.
Pfizer welcomed the court’s decision.
“Pfizer is pleased with the decision of the UK High Court finding certain GSK patents concerning RSV-related technology both invalid and not infringed,” a spokesperson said.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; additional reporting by Maggie Fick; editing by Sarah Young)
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