German company BioNTech has entered into two separate settlement agreements with the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) over royalty payments for its COVID-19 vaccine.
BioNTech stated in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it has agreed to pay the NIH $791.5 million; in a March filing with the SEC, the company stated that it had received a default notice from the agency "concerning royalties and other amounts allegedly owed on sales of the Company's COVID-19 vaccine since commercialization." The agreement was made to resolve this default notice.
The firm also noted that Pfizer, its partner in the production of the vaccine, has agreed to reimburse BioNTech for $364.5 million of the royalties claimed by the NIH in the settlement.
In a second agreement, the company will pay $467 million to Penn to settle a lawsuit brought against it in August by the school for alleged royalties underpayment on Penn patents used in the development of the vaccine. Pfizer will reimburse BioNTech for $170 million in this settlement, the firm noted.
Neither agreement includes an admission of liability. Both agreements also provide for BioNTech to pay "a low single-digit percentage royalty on Net Sales of Licensed Products (each as defined in the PSA) for 2024 onwards and provide a framework for a license for use in combination products which would include the COVID-19 vaccine used in combination with other active pharmaceutical ingredients."
