WASHINGTON (AP) – The federal government has canceled a multimillion-dollar deal with Emergent BioSolutions, a Maryland-based vaccine manufacturer with facilities in Baltimore that is found to have produced millions of Johnson & Johnson contaminated doses of vaccine this spring, the Washington Post reported.
Emergent announced its development on Thursday in a teleconference on its latest financial results, according to The Post. Emergent said it would lose about $ 180 million due to contract termination, Post reported.
Emergent BioSolutions played a role in the Trump administration’s efforts to accelerate the development and distribution of vaccines. But after contracting with the previous administration, Emergent quickly ran into production problems.
In March, ingredients intended for use in Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines infected 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine. Vaccine problems caused production to be delayed by several months.
The Biden administration then placed Johnson & Johnson under direct control over vaccine production.
In June, the FDA decided to phase out at least another 60 million additional doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine produced at the plant.
The failures at the Bayview plant in Baltimore have prevented J&J from becoming a major player in the vaccination of people, especially in remote areas and poor countries. It requires just one dose and standard refrigeration and is cheaper than some other vaccines. But there were problems with the Emergent plant.
According to reports obtained by the Associated Press, the FDA has repeatedly referred to Emergent in the past for issues such as poorly trained employees, cracked vials, and problems removing mold and other contaminants around one of its facilities.
