Moderna, WHO set for vaccine clash as patents threaten mRNA use

Moderna is heading for a clash with the South African government and the World Health Organization over patent claims that vaccine advocates say could threaten the continent’s access to Covid-19 shots.

Medecins Sans Frontiers and other health and relief groups are calling on the vaccine-maker to abandon three patent applications filed years ago in South Africa, saying they could impede a WHO-backed effort to make messenger RNA shots for low-income countries at a hub in Cape Town.

The patents effectively give Moderna the right to stop anyone from making or selling an mRNA vaccine in South Africa, said Charles Gore, the director of the Medicines Patent Pool, which is helping the WHO establish the mRNA hub. Other countries have already shot down similar applications from the company, he said.