Bayer has filed separate lawsuits against COVID-19 jab manufacturers, alleging patent infringement of mRNA technology developed by its subsidiary, Monsanto. The Pharma giant filed complaints in federal court against Moderna, Pfizer & BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson. “The irony. Monsanto, which sells the poison glyphosate, sues Pfizer for using its technology in Pfizer’s C-19 vaccines,” Aaron Siri commented. The irony. Monsanto, which sells the poison glyphosate, sues Pfizer for using its technology in Pfizer’s C-19 vaccines. https://t.co/0H2xQZE0c2 — Aaron Siri (@AaronSiriSG) January 8, 2026 Fierce Pharma explained further: Monsanto filed to protect its intellectual property in 1989, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office eventually granted it in 2010, according to the lawsuits. Bayer bought out Monsanto for $66 billion in 2016. Monsanto initially used the technology to increase the expression of an insect-resistant protein in crops, which reduced the need for pesticide sprays and improved agricultural output, the lawsuits explained. Instability leading to poor protein expression was a central issue the COVID-19 vaccine makers faced in developing their shots. Solving this helped enhance the vaccines’ “ability to confer immunity to the virus,” Bayer wrote in its complaint against Pfizer/BioNTech, adding that the German biotech has “acknowledged that it utilizes codon optimization in its mRNA products.” While J&J’s COVID shot—which is no longer available—was a traditional viral vector vaccine, it still needed increased mRNA stability for protein expression, according to Bayer. Bayer is seeking unspecified monetary damages. Fierce Pharma noted that Bayer said in its complaint against Pfizer and BioNTech that the companies reported “more than $93 billion in sales of their vaccine Comirnaty.” “Glyphosate is poisoning people and Monsanto/Bayer know it. That’s what they’re suing Pfizer, Moderna, BioNTech & J&J, claiming the COVID shots used their patented GMO mRNA tech (built for crops) without permission,” Children’s Health Defense wrote. “They’re preparing to lose in court. So they’ve lined up a backup plan: cash in on COVID shots. Not to stop injections. Just to get a cut of ~$93B,” it added. Glyphosate is poisoning people and Monsanto/Bayer know it. That’s what they’re suing Pfizer, Moderna, BioNTech & J&J, claiming the COVID shots used their patented GMO mRNA tech (built for crops) without permission. They’re preparing to lose in court. So they've lined up a… pic.twitter.com/7xjFjyaTnT — Children’s Health Defense (@ChildrensHD) January 8, 2026 Reuters has more: Pfizer and BioNTech earned more than $3.3 billion in revenue from global sales of their vaccine Comirnaty in 2024, while Moderna earned $3.2 billion from its Spikevax, according to company reports, a fraction of their sales at the height of the pandemic. Johnson & Johnson stopped selling its COVID vaccine in the United States in 2023.