London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Congressional investigation launched into Emergent BioSolutions' federal vaccine contracts

Congressional investigation launched into Emergent BioSolutions' federal vaccine contracts

Congressional investigators have requested top executives from Emergent BioSolutions testify before the Select Subcommittee.
Top House Democrats have launched an investigation into whether Emergent Biosolutions, which recently botched 15 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, won the federal contract to make the shots based on its cozy relationship with a top former Trump administration official.

Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney, of New York, chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and James E. Clyburn, of South Carolina, chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, sent a joint letter to Emergent Solutions’ CEO, Robert G. Kramer, and executive chairman, Fuad El-Hibri, to request that they testify before the coronavirus subcommittee.

“Specifically, we are investigating reports that Emergent received multi-million-dollar contracts to manufacture coronavirus vaccines despite a long, documented history of inadequately trained staff and quality control issues,” the lawmakers wrote.

The committees are specifically looking at the role Dr. Robert Kadlec, a former consultant to Emergent and Trump’s assistant secretary for preparedness and response, played in helping the company win the contract. They asked the company to turn over a slew of documents, including all of its federal contracts since 2015, all communication with Kadlec as well as information on audits and inspections of its facilities, drug pricing and executive compensation, among other things.

“Emergent received $628 million in June 2020 to establish the primary U.S. facility for manufacturing vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter sent Monday to Kramer and El-Hibri. Kadlec “appears to have pushed for this award despite indications that Emergent did not have the ability to reliably fulfill the contract.”

According to the letter, an FDA inspection of the Baltimore plant in April 2020 revealed that Emergent did not have the necessary personnel to produce a coronavirus vaccine. Another inspection, in June, found that Emergent’s plan for producing desperately needed coronavirus vaccines was inadequate due to poorly trained staff and quality control problems.

Despite Emergent falling short on federal inspections, the Trump administration paid $628 million to the company in June to manufacture coronavirus vaccines.

Reports later emerged that indicated quality control issues at Emergent’s Baltimore plant.

“During the manufacturing process, your company contaminated millions of doses of Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot coronavirus vaccine with ingredients from the AstraZeneca vaccine,” the lawmakers wrote.

Emergent was forced to destroy up to 15 million tainted doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and another 62 million doses remained in limbo until it could be determined that they were not affected by the mix-up, they said, citing reporting by The New York Times.

Emergent’s Baltimore plant wasn’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration, so none of the doses produced at that site were ever distributed or made their way into Americans’ arms.

“We are concerned by the costs to taxpayers and the potential impact on our nation’s vaccination efforts caused by Emergent’s failed attempts to manufacture these vaccines,” the lawmakers wrote.

The lawmakers also said they are looking at Emergent’s role as the nation’s sole provider of anthrax vaccine in the Strategic National Stockpile.

“Emergent has raised the government purchasing price of the anthrax vaccine by 800% since acquiring the drug in 1998. As a result, through most of the last decade, nearly half of the SNS’s budget has been spent purchasing Emergent’s anthrax vaccine,” the representatives wrote.

According to the letter, after Kadlec was confirmed in the Trump administration, Emergent received millions of dollars in federal contracts from his agency, including contracts for the stockpile “that were awarded without competitive bidding.”

Emergent encouraged oversight of the stockpile to be transferred from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response, under Kadlec’s control, according to the letter.

Until 2015, Kadlec provided consulting services to Emergent through his company, RPK Consulting. Kadlec was confirmed to lead the office, which is within the Department of Health and Human Services, in 2017.

Kramer and El-Hibri were asked to testify before the subcommittee on May 19 at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×