Federal government cancels major COVID vax contract after repeated production issues

A manufacturer of COVID-19 vaccines lost a multimillion-dollar contract after multiple instances of troubled production of medicine.

Maryland-based Emergent said in an SEC filing this week that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had moved to terminate the company’s contract, with a value loss for the company of around $180 million. 

The company in March was found to have produced millions of tainted vials of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine; another round of tens of millions of doses was discarded in June. 

The company has also been cited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for issues such as mold and training problems.