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GlaxoSmithKline on Wednesday sued Pfizer in U.S. court, alleging patent infringement over Britain-based GSK’s respiratory syncytial virus vaccine.
GSK claims Pfizer’s RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, infringes on four of its patents related to the antigen used in its own shot.
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“Upon information and belief, Pfizer knowingly uses GSK’s claimed inventions in Abrysvo without permission,” GSK wrote in a scathing complaint filed in federal court in Delaware.
A Pfizer spokesperson said it is “confident in its intellectual property position and will strongly defend its right to bring its innovative” RSV shot to patients.
Both vaccines were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May for use in adults 60 and above. They are the first shots approved to prevent RSV, a common respiratory infection that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms, but more severe cases in older adults and children.
Some shots are already available to the public at retail pharmacies like Walgreens.
Each year, RSV kills 6,000 to 10,000 seniors and a few hundred children younger than 5, according to CDC data.
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