The United States has put Johnson and Johnson (J&J) in charge of a plant that ruined 15mn doses of its coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine and has stopped British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc from using the facility, a senior health official said on Saturday.
J&J said it was “assuming full responsibility” of the Emergent BioSolutions facility in Baltimore, reiterating that it will deliver 100mn doses to the government by the end of May.
In a separate statement late on Sunday, Emergent said it expects to align with the US government and AstraZeneca to ramp down manufacturing for AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine at its Baltimore plant.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has also increased Emergent’s order by $23mn for expansion of production specific to J&J’s vaccine doses, Emergent added.
“The $23mn will be used for the purchase of biologics manufacturing equipment specific to Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine for the potential expansion of manufacturing of that bulk drug substance into a third suite of Emergent’s Baltimore Bayview facility,” the company said.
The Department of Health and Human Services facilitated the move, the health official said in an e-mail, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.
AstraZeneca, whose vaccine has not been approved in the United States, said it will work with President Joe Biden’s administration to find an alternative site to produce its vaccine.
The development, first reported by the New York Times, further hampers AstraZeneca’s efforts in the United States.
The government has criticised the drugmaker for using outdated data in the results of its vaccine trial.
It later revised its study.
Workers at the Emergent BioSolutions plant several weeks ago conflated ingredients for the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines, the Times said earlier in the week.
J&J said at the time that the ruined batch of vaccine doses had not advanced to the fill-and-finish stage.
The government’s move to have the facility make only the J&J single-dose vaccine is meant to avoid future mix-ups, the Times said, citing two senior federal health officials.
A White House official said yesterday that the government decision is not an indication of concerns about the AstraZeneca vaccine’s safety or effectiveness, and will not impact the output of doses.
“This is not a decision that in any way has anything to do with any concerns about the AstraZeneca vaccine,” White House Covid-19 adviser Andy Slavitt told journalists during a virtual news conference.
“This is a decision that HHS made with Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca in complete collaboration,” he said.
Slavitt also said during yesterday’s briefing that nearly one-in-three Americans have had at least one Covid-19 shot and more than 55% of seniors have been fully vaccinated.
The United States has shipped out nearly 208mn Covid-19 shots and administered more than 165mn, according to federal data last updated on Sunday.