U.S. Cancels Multimillion-Dollar Contract with COVID Vax Manufacturer for ‘Cross-Contamination’ of J&J Vials

“There is no assurance that other batches have not been subject to cross-contamination.”

QUICK FACTS:
  • The U.S. government has canceled a contract with Emergent BioSolutions, a major vaccine maker that was investigated after it was blamed for a defective batch of 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine, according to The Washington Post.
  • Workers at Emergent mixed up ingredients for J&J’s shot and a vaccine from AstraZeneca, according to The Epoch Times.
  • A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) document referred to the mixup as a “cross-contamination event,” and lamented that there was “no assurance that other batches have not been subject to cross-contamination.”
  • The deal was worth $628 million, but Emergent will lose around $180 million from the cancellation.
  • The manufacturer announced the news on Thursday during a conference call to discuss its most recent financial performance.
  • The Maryland-based business stated in its earnings report that the Department of Health and Human Services and Emergent had mutually decided to cancel the contract on Nov. 1.

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