Moderna reaches $2.25 billion settlement agreement, Roivant and Arbutus Biopharma stock prices soar

LootboxPhobia · 2026-03-04T00:01:20+00:00

Arbutus Biopharma and Roivant Sciences stocks surged after Moderna reached a $2.25 billion settlement agreement with them. The settlement involves patents related to delivery technology used in Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, with Moderna paying $950 million and potentially making additional payments. This agreement resolves all related patent lawsuits and is one of the largest patent settlement events in the pharmaceutical industry.

LootboxPhobia

2026-03-04 00:01:20

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Investing.com – After Tuesday’s market close, Arbutus Biopharma (Nasdaq: ABUS) stock surged 24%, Roivant Sciences (Nasdaq: ROIV) rose 6.5%, and Moderna (Nasdaq: MRNA) increased 7%. Previously, the three parties announced a $2.25 billion global settlement to resolve patent infringement lawsuits related to the lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology used in Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Under the terms of the settlement, Moderna will prepay $950 million to Roivant’s subsidiary Genevant Sciences and Arbutus in July 2026. An additional $1.3 billion payment depends on a favorable ruling from the appellate court, which would determine that Section 1498 of Title 28 of the U.S. Code does not prohibit patent infringement claims against Moderna, except for vaccine doses provided to U.S. government employees.

The settlement resolves all U.S. and international enforcement lawsuits involving Moderna’s use of Genevant and Arbutus’s LNP delivery technology in its Spikevax vaccine. Moderna has agreed to accept infringement judgments on four Genevant/Arbutus patents, with no issues of invalidity. If the contingent payments are realized, this will be the largest patent settlement disclosed in the pharmaceutical industry and the second-largest settlement across all industries.

As part of the agreement, Genevant grants Moderna a worldwide, non-exclusive license to use the LNP delivery technology for mRNA infectious disease vaccines containing SM-102, and commits not to file lawsuits over certain patents and products.

Roivant’s board of directors approved a $1 billion share repurchase plan, including the $500 million authorization approved in June 2025. The company noted that litigation against Pfizer/BioNTech is still ongoing, following a favorable Markman ruling in September 2025. Sales of Comirnaty account for approximately two-thirds of the global COVID-19 mRNA vaccine sales.

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