Emergent BioSolutions is shaking up its leadership after an error at its manufacturing plant in Baltimore in March ruined 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, according to The New York Times.
Robert Kramer, CEO of the vaccine maker, told investors during a call that one senior vice president overseeing manufacturing would leave Emergent and another executive would go on leave, according to the April 29 report.
Mary Oates, PhD, who joined Emergent in November as senior vice president of global quality, after 25 years at Pfizer, now is leading Emergent's response to a federal inspection related to the ruined vaccine doses, The New York Times reported.
The ruined doses were found after the Baltimore plant mixed up ingredients for the shot with ingredients for AstraZeneca's shot. The FDA has asked Emergent to temporarily stop making COVID-19 vaccine materials while it investigates the plant.
During the call with investors, Mr. Kramer acknowledged the manufacturing problems and that the "loss of a batch for a viral contamination is extremely serious, and we treated it as such," but he also said the company had "readily raised our hand, we stepped forward, we ran at this opportunity and the pandemic in a way that few if any other organizations did," according to The New York Times.
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