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Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, fired back at Moderna on Monday in a patent lawsuit over their rival Covid-19 vaccines, seeking dismissal of the lawsuit in Boston federal court and an order that Moderna's patents are invalid and not infringed. Moderna first sued Pfizer in August, accusing the company of violating its rights in three patents related to innovations that Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna said it pioneered before the Covid-19 pandemic. Moderna has also filed a related lawsuit against Pfizer and BioNTech in Germany. All three companies are also embroiled in US patent disputes with other companies over the vaccines. A Pfizer spokesperson said the company and BioNTech are confident in their intellectual property and will "vigorously defend" against Moderna's claims. Moderna did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Monday filing.

GlaxoSmithKline on Tuesday (May 31) snapped up US biopharmaceutical firm Affinivax for up to $3.3 billion, expanding further into vaccines before the demerger of its consumer health care arm. The London-listed company has agreed to pay $2.1 billion upfront and up to $1.2 billion in potential development milestones for Affinivax. "GSK plc today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Affinivax, Inc," it said in a statement. "Affinivax is pioneering the development of a novel class of vaccines, the most advanced of which are next-generation pneumococcal vaccines," it added. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based firm specialises in vaccines for diseases including meningitis, pneumonia and bloodstream infections. "The proposed acquisition further strengthens our vaccines research and development (R&D) pipeline, provides access to a new, potentially disruptive technology, and broadens GSK's existing scientific footprint in the Boston area," said GSK's chief scientific officer Hal Barron.