J.&J. Pauses Production of Its Covid Vaccine Despite Persistent Need
Source: New York Times
Johnson & Johnsons easy-to-deliver Covid-19 shot is the vaccine of choice for much of the developing world. Yet the American company, which has already fallen far behind on its deliveries to poorer countries, late last year quietly shut down the only plant making usable batches of the vaccine, according to people familiar with the decision. The facility, in the Dutch city of Leiden, has instead been making an experimental but potentially more profitable vaccine to protect against an unrelated virus.
The halt is temporary the Leiden plant is expected to start churning out the Covid vaccine again after a pause of a few months and it is not clear whether it has had an impact on vaccine supplies yet, thanks to stockpiles. But over the next several months, the interruption has the potential to reduce the supply of Johnson & Johnsons Covid vaccine by a few hundred million doses, according to one of the people familiar with the decision. Other facilities have been hired to produce the vaccine but either arent up and running yet or havent received regulatory approval to send what theyre making to be bottled.
Inside Johnson & Johnsons executive suites, the decision to suspend production at Leiden prompted concerns that it would impair the companys ability to deliver on its vaccine commitments to the developing world. Johnson & Johnsons move also blindsided officials at two of the companys most important customers: the African Union and Covax, the clearinghouse responsible for getting vaccines to poor countries. Leaders of those organizations learned of the halt in production from New York Times reporters. This is not the time to be switching production lines of anything, when the lives of people across the developing world hang in the balance, said Dr. Ayoade Alakija, a co-head of the African Unions vaccine-delivery program.
Jake Sargent, a spokesman for Johnson & Johnson, said in an email that the company was focused on ensuring our vaccine is available where people are in need and that its global production network is working day and night to help fight the pandemic. He said the company was continuing to deliver batches of the vaccine to facilities that bottled and packaged doses. He also said Johnson & Johnson had millions of finished doses in inventory. Johnson & Johnsons Covid vaccine, initially billed as a single shot, fell out of favor in the United States and other wealthy countries in part because of its link to a rare but dangerous blood-clotting disorder. Studies have found that it performs worse by some measures than the shots from Pfizer and Moderna.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/business/johnson-johnson-covid-vaccine.html
Bayard
(22,061 posts)Time to go back to making money.
StarryNite
(9,443 posts)What unrelated virus?
dweller
(23,628 posts)That snippet stopped me in my tracks
WHAT UNRELATED VIRUS ARE THEY EXPECTING NEXT ?!?
✌🏻
hamsterjill
(15,220 posts)Do they already expect something else and see profit by being ahead of the game?
IronLionZion
(45,430 posts)I know their Baltimore plant failed but what about their plants in South Africa and Italy and elsewhere? Somebody should be making COVID vaccines for the developing world.
BumRushDaShow
(128,872 posts)since Janssen (J&J) has started an agreement to contract out making that vaccine in South Africa to a company local there (assuming the approvals happen) - https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/safricas-aspen-signs-non-binding-agreement-with-jj-covid-vaccine-license-2021-11-30/
The U.S. wasn't making it here either - originally getting our doses of this from Belgium (Janssen's plant) and Merck had agreed to step up and help to make it here but haven't heard any updates on that effort for use here although Europe recently approved the manufacture of it here in PA at that plant (am guessing for export).
slightlv
(2,787 posts)and this company is the epitome of business in the United States. Profit at all costs. Human life be damned. I'll never trust anything that comes out of their labs ever again.
Gore1FL
(21,128 posts)All things are relative.