March 3 (Reuters) - Moderna has agreed to pay Genevant Sciences, a subsidiary ​of Roivant Sciences, and Arbutus Biopharma up to $2.25 billion to settle ‌a long-running legal fight over the technology that made its COVID-19 vaccine possible, the companies said on Tuesday.

Under the deal, Moderna will pay $950 million upfront in July 2026, with an additional $1.3 ​billion that depends on the outcome of a separate legal appeal.

The ​deal resolves all U.S. and international legal actions accusing Moderna of ⁠using lipid nanoparticle, or LNP, a delivery technology owned by Genevant and Arbutus, ​without permission in its COVID vaccine. Moderna said in a press release that it ​would not owe the companies any royalties for LNP technology in its future vaccines under the agreement.

Lipid nanoparticles act as a tiny protective shell that helps fragile mRNA molecules reach human ​cells intact, allowing the vaccine to work as intended.

Moderna shares jumped 8.9% in after-hours trading, while Arbutus fell 14% and Roivant was flat.

Moderna had ‌been set ⁠to defend against Genevant and Arbutus's patent infringement allegations at a trial in Delaware federal court starting next week.

The case would have been the first to go to trial from a web of high-stakes U.S. patent lawsuits over COVID vaccine ​technology that has also ​ensnared Pfizer and ⁠its German partner BioNTech as well as other drugmakers.

Genevant and Arbutus filed a similar lawsuit against Pfizer and BioNTech over the ​LNP technology in their vaccine in 2023. That lawsuit is ​still ongoing.

Moderna ⁠has separately sued rivals Pfizer and BioNTech for infringing patents related to mRNA technology. BioNTech countersued Moderna in February, arguing Moderna's next-generation COVID-19 shot, MNEXSPIKE, infringes one of its patents.

Companies ⁠including GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer ​and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals have also filed patent lawsuits seeking ​shares of the tens of billions of dollars in COVID vaccine sales.