Defendant
7 cases as defendant.
Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (Nasdaq: ABUS), commonly "Arbutus," is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered at 701 Veterans Circle, Warminster, Pennsylvania. It traces its origins to Tekmira Pharmaceuticals and Protiva Biotherapeutics (spun out of Inex Pharmaceuticals) and was renamed Arbutus Biopharma in 2015. It is publicly traded with no parent corporation, though Roivant Sciences Ltd. (Nasdaq: ROIV) holds a significant minority stake. It is small: roughly 44 employees (MarketWatch), minimal revenue, no product sales, and recurring operating losses per its SEC filings.
Products / operations. Arbutus develops therapies for chronic hepatitis B virus (cHBV). Lead programs are imdusiran (AB-729), a GalNAc-conjugated, subcutaneously delivered RNAi therapeutic in Phase 2 with FDA Fast Track designation, and AB-101, an oral PD-L1 inhibitor. Separately, it holds foundational lipid nanoparticle (LNP) and GalNAc delivery patents, licensed for all non-HBV fields to Genevant Sciences GmbH, a Roivant subsidiary. Arbutus holds roughly 16% of Genevant's parent and a 20% share of enforcement proceeds under a cross-license agreement.
Litigation posture. Arbutus is an operating company and an active two-way litigant, not an NPE. It appears as plaintiff in 2 tracked cases (enforcing LNP patents) and as defendant in 7, reflecting its dual role as a patent owner/licensor and an operating biotech defending its IP estate. Cases cluster in Delaware, SDNY, and D.N.J. — not plaintiff-friendly East Texas venues.
Notable cases. Arbutus/Genevant v. Moderna (D. Del., filed Feb. 2022) settled in March 2026: $950M upfront plus up to $1.3B contingent on the § 1498 appeal, with Moderna consenting to judgments of infringement and no invalidity on four patents; Arbutus received ~$178M in July 2026. The same LNP estate is now asserted against Pfizer/BioNTech (D.N.J., plus UPC and Canadian actions filed July 2026). The Acuitas Therapeutics suits against Genevant/Arbutus and Moderna's PTAB IPR arise from the same LNP technology disputes.
Acuitas refiled its declaratory-judgment action against Genevant and Arbutus in D.N.J. on August 4, 2023, again seeking declarations that Comirnaty does not infringe and that ten Arbutus patents are invalid. The narrative could not verify the D.N.J. case number; a possible 3:23-cv-04200 identification was expressly treated as unverified.
Acuitas filed a declaratory-judgment action for non-infringement and invalidity against Genevant and Arbutus in S.D.N.Y., challenging nine Arbutus patents including 11141378. The action was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice on August 4, 2023.
Acuitas Therapeutics filed a declaratory judgment action for non-infringement and invalidity against Arbutus Biopharma and Genevant Sciences regarding the Arbutus patent estate, with US 9,518,272 listed among the patents flagged for the docket. The case was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice on August 4, 2023, and Acuitas refiled in New Jersey.
Acuitas Therapeutics filed a declaratory judgment action in the Southern District of New York against Genevant Sciences GmbH and Arbutus Biopharma Corp., seeking non-infringement and invalidity of Arbutus patents including U.S. Patent No. 9,006,417, in connection with the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine COMIRNATY and Acuitas's LNP technology. Acuitas voluntarily dismissed the action without prejudice on August 4, 2023, and it was terminated August 7, 2023, coinciding with refiling in New Jersey.
Acuitas filed a declaratory-judgment action in S.D.N.Y. seeking declarations that Comirnaty does not infringe and nine Arbutus/Genevant patents are invalid; the '320 patent was identified in a June 3, 2022 notice. After a motion to dismiss, Acuitas amended and then voluntarily dismissed the action and refiled in D.N.J.
Moderna Therapeutics petitioned for inter partes review of all claims 1-22 of US 9,404,127. The PTAB issued a final written decision holding all challenged claims unpatentable as inherently anticipated by U.S. Patent No. 8,058,069.
Reported but unconfirmed D.N.J. declaratory-judgment action by Acuitas against Arbutus and Genevant, challenging a list of patents including 11141378 and other Arbutus family patents. The narrative could not independently verify the case number 3:23-cv-04200 against the Acuitas caption.