Pennsylvania
BioNTech settles with U.S. agency, University of Pennsylvania over Covid vaccine royalties
Vials containing the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are displayed before being used at a mobile vaccine clinic, in Valparaiso, Chile, January 3, 2022.
Rodrigo Garrido | Reuters
BioNTech has entered into two separate settlement agreements with the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the University of Pennsylvania over the payment of royalties related to its COVID-19 vaccine, the company said in filings.
The German company, which partners with U.S. drugmaker Pfizer for its COVID-19 vaccine, said on Friday it would pay $791.5 million to the U.S. agency to resolve a default notice.
Separately, the company will pay $467 million to the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), which has agreed to dismiss a lawsuit brought against the vaccine maker accusing it of underpaying royalties.
BioNTech said partner Pfizer will reimburse it for up to $170 million of the royalties payable to Penn and $364.5 million of the royalties paid to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)for 2020-2023 vaccine sales.
NIH and Penn did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. government is owed royalty payments under the terms of the license BioNTech has taken for certain patents owned by the NIH, among other entities.
Penn’s lawsuit had said BioNTech owes the school a greater share of its worldwide vaccine sales for using “foundational” messenger RNA (mRNA) inventions developed by Penn professors and Nobel Prize winners Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman.
The company also amended its license agreements with both NIH and Penn, agreeing to pay a low single-digit percentage of its vaccine net sales to both the entities.
Both settlements include a framework for a license to use NIH and Penn’s patents in combination products.
The agreements do not constitute an admission of liability in either case, the company said.
Pennsylvania
Funeral arrangements set for Pa. state trooper shot and killed in Chester County
The funeral arrangements for Corporal Timothy O’Connor, who was shot and killed in Chester County on Sunday, have been announced.
The viewing for O’Connor will be Tuesday, March 17, from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Church located at 338 Manor Avenue in Downingtown, Pa., according to the Parkesburg Police Department.
The funeral will be held at the same location on Wednesday, March 18, at 11 a.m., police said.
O’Connor was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Honey Brook on Sunday night. The suspect, Jesse Nathan Elks, took his own life after shooting O’Connor.
O’Connor was a 15-year veteran of the Pennsylvania State Police who leaves behind a wife, Casey, and a 6-year-old daughter, according to police.
Pennsylvania State Police Pennsylvania State Police
Pennsylvania
Fire crews try moving burning barge to shallow water in Delaware Bay
Crews battle blaze on salvage barge in Delaware bay
Crews battled a blaze on a salvage barge in the Delaware Bay Tuesday morning. No injuries were reported. 3/10/26
Delaware, Pennsylvania, and federal agencies have been responding to a barge fire in the Delaware Bay.
The barge, which is carrying salvage metal, is being moved to shallow water so it can be secured, allowing on-scene responders to extinguish the fire and complete salvage operations, according to a March 10 statement from the Delaware Emergency Management Agency.
No injuries have been reported as of 1:15 p.m.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) is on scene to perform air monitoring, the statement said.
Responding agencies include the Wilmington Fire Department, Good Will, Leipsic Volunteer, Bowers and South Bowers fire companies. Also there are Delaware State Police, DNREC, New Castle County Office of Emergency Management, Kent County Department of Public Safety, the Delaware Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay.
The Philadelphia Fire Department was enroute.
This is a developing story. Check back with delawareonline.com for more information.
Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.
Pennsylvania
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