The Biden Administration’s Strange, Secret Effort to Bail Out Moderna

[mystery-ak]

Chuck Ross   
March 21, 2023

American taxpayers have already given Moderna $10 billion for its coronavirus vaccine. If the Biden administration gets its wish, that tab could soon grow.

In a court filing last month, Department of Justice lawyers offered to "relieve" Moderna of any liability it faces from a lawsuit that accuses the drug company of failing to pay licensing fees for technology it used to develop its vaccine during "Operation Warp Speed." Moderna has argued that the federal government should be on the hook for any legal settlement because of a stipulation in its contract that protects the company from patent litigation. The government had stayed silent on the matter until last month, when Justice Department lawyers said that any liability that Moderna faces should "transfer" to the United States government, citing a World War I-era law that protects federal contractors from patent disputes.

While the judge handling the case recently denied the request, Moderna and the federal government could appeal the decision and put taxpayers on the hook for any legal payout. Genevant, one of the companies that sued Moderna, has already accused the drug maker of "trying to shift responsibility for its patent infringement to the U.S. taxpayer."

more
https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/the-biden-administrations-strang-secret-effort-to-bail-out-moderna/

[rangerrebew]

 
After Giving Them Billions, The US Government Wants To Bail Out Moderna
 

DYLAN HOUSMAN
CHIEF FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT
March 21, 2023
12:12 PM ET
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Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel is set to testify before the Senate’s top healthcare committee Wednesday as the federal government generously offers to bail his company out of a patent infringement lawsuit.

The purpose of Wednesday’s Health, Labor, Education and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing is to question Bancel about drug prices after Moderna proposed quadrupling the price of its COVID-19 shot. Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, HELP’s chair, and Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, the committee’s ranking member, have long advocated for lower drug prices.

The Biden administration’s entanglement with ongoing litigation related to patent infringement has received less attention than issue of vaccine pricing. Moderna is currently fighting off a lawsuit from Arbutus Biopharma and Genevant Sciences, a pair of small biotechnology firms that allege Moderna stole their technology to develop its COVID-19 vaccine.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/03/21/moderna-lawsuit-patent-infringement-vaccine-doj-arbutus-genevant/

[mountaineer]

 Sen. RandPaul  Confronts Moderna CEO About the Risk of Myocarditis in Young Males

Paul: "You're saying that for ages 16 to 24, among males who take the COVID vaccine, their risk of myocarditis is less than people who get the disease?"

Bancel: "That is my understanding —"

Paul: "That is not true. And I'd like to enter into the record six peer-reviewed papers ... that say the complete opposite of what you say. I also spoke with your president just last week, and he readily acknowledged in private that, yes, there is an increased risk of myocarditis. The fact that you can't say in public is quite disturbing."

https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1638567512454361088