Moderna Inc.'s stock plummeted 5.08% during intraday trading on Thursday, as investors reacted to news of a significant settlement payment related to patent litigation.

The decline comes after Moderna paid $178 million to Arbutus Biopharma earlier this month to resolve patent infringement litigation related to Moderna's Covid-19 vaccines. The settlement agreement was disclosed as Arbutus filed additional patent infringement lawsuits against Pfizer and BioNTech for similar lipid nanoparticle technology.

This substantial payment represents a direct financial cost to Moderna and highlights ongoing legal challenges surrounding intellectual property in the mRNA vaccine space, which appears to have prompted investor concern during the trading session.