The United States government has canceled a contract with Emergent BioSolutions, a major vaccine manufacturer that came under investigation after it was blamed for a bad batch of 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The Department of Health and Human Services and Emergent mutually agreed to end the contract on Nov. 1, the Maryland-based company said in an earnings report.
The cancellation means the contract was reduced by about $180 million.
The contract was reached in June 2012. It included manufacturing therapies for cancer and tuberculosis vaccines. In 2020, it was expanded to include manufacturing for third-party COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics.
But Emergent’s work on a batch of drug substances for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was pinpointed as ruining some 15 million doses. Workers there mixed up ingredients for J&J’s shot and a vaccine from AstraZeneca.
The issue delayed the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for months.
Johnson & Johnson was put in charge of the vaccine production by the Biden administration, but regulators later reportedly decided that another 60 million doses needed to be thrown out.
This is an excerpt from The Epoch Times.
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