Johnson & Johnson, the creator of the FDA-approved single-dose coronavirus vaccine, has identified a problem at a Baltimore plant helping to manufacture the vaccine.
The New York Times first reported Wednesday that workers at Baltimore’s Emergent BioSolutions accidentally mixed some of the ingredients, ruining as many as 15 million doses of the vaccine and delaying FDA authorization of the facility.
The company said in an emailed statement to CNN that the plant’s quality-control system identified “one batch” of drug substance which didn’t meet standards, noting the questionable batch was part of a test run and quality check.
“This batch was never advanced to the filing and finishing stages of our manufacturing process,” the company statement said, CNN reported.
Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday that the setback didn’t affect its goal of delivering 20 million coronavirus vaccine doses by March’s end, which it said it was still on pace to reach. The doses to fill that shipment were manufactured in the company’s Netherlands plant, CNN reported.
