Amsterdam UMC Sues Ronald Plasterk and CureVac Over Patents

Amsterdam UMC has filed a lawsuit against Ronald Plasterk and biotech company CureVac over patents related to a cancer therapy. The hospital confirms this following reports by NRC.

The dispute involves the development of cancer vaccines. Plasterk is accused of unjustly claiming these patents solely for himself, although the research was conducted together with another UMC scientist, Jan Koster.

In 2022, the former minister sold his company, Frame Therapeutics, including these patents, to pharmaceutical giant CureVac for 32 million euros. Koster was not involved in this transaction, as revealed by NRC in March last year.

The acquisition also halted clinical trials for new treatments for lung cancer patients. CureVac thereby prevented the development of a therapy that could compete with its own vaccines.

Amsterdam UMC now states that Plasterk and CureVac acted unlawfully. “The rights of both Jan Koster and Amsterdam UMC were not respected,” the hospital wrote in a statement to the newspaper.

“This must be rectified. These patent applications largely stem from publicly funded knowledge, so part of the proceeds should benefit the public domain.”

Source: NOS

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