Company: ABUS
Filing Date: 2025-05-14
Form Type: 10-Q
Source: 0001447028-25-000099
Chunk: 36

Company: Arbutus Biopharma Corp
Filing Date: 2025-05-14
Form: 10-Q
Item: Part I, Item 1
Chunk 36
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Strategy

Our strategy is focused on maximizing opportunities for our cHBV development programs and our in-house developed LNP delivery technology.

LNP delivery technology

On February 28, 2022 and April 4, 2023, we filed patent infringement lawsuits in the United States against Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, respectively, seeking compensation for their unlicensed use of our patented technologies in their COVID-19 mRNA-LNP vaccines. It is well established in the scientific literature that the most significant technological hurdle to developing and deploying medicines using mRNA is engineering a safe and effective way to deliver the mRNA to human cells. Scientists at Arbutus and Genevant have spent years developing and refining LNP delivery technology, which has been licensed for various applications to many different third parties. Our and Genevant’s LNP technology relies on microscopic particles built from four carefully selected types of fat-like molecules to shelter and protect ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules. With this technology, the RNA can travel through the human body to a target cell and through the target cell’s membrane before releasing the RNA. Without this crucial delivery technology, the RNA would quickly degrade in the body and be ineffective. We remain committed to taking all legal actions necessary to defend and protect our intellectual property.

With respect to the Moderna lawsuit in the United States, the claim construction hearing occurred on February 8, 2024. On April 3, 2024, the court provided its claim construction ruling in which it construed the disputed claim terms and agreed with our position on most of the disputed claim terms. A trial date for the Moderna lawsuit in the United States has been set for September 29, 2025. With respect to the Pfizer/BioNTech lawsuit, the claim construction hearing occurred on December 18, 2024. The court is expected to provide its ruling on the claim construction and issue a further scheduling order, including the date for trial, in 2025. On March 3, 2025, we announced that, along with Genevant, we have filed five international lawsuits against Moderna in connection with Moderna’s use of our LNP technology in Moderna’s COVID-19 mRNA-LNP vaccines and, in the Unified Patent Court, also Moderna’s RSV vaccines.  

cHBV programs

Our current HBV strategy is to develop a functional cure for patients with cHBV infection with imdusiran as a potential cornerstone in a combination therapy. We believe that a combination of compounds