New York Times Credits Report On Emergent BioSolutions For Biden's Canceled Vaccine Plant Visit

The New York Times NYT is crediting its reporting for President Joe Biden’s decision to cancel a visit to a coronavirus vaccine plant operated by Emergent BioSolutions EBS and launch an investigation into the Strategic National Stockpile, the nation’s emergency medical reserve.

What Happened: On March 6, the newspaper published the article “How One Firm Put an ‘Extraordinary Burden’ on the U.S.’s Troubled Stockpile,” which offered insight into what the Times described as “Emergent’s aggressive tactics, broad political connections and penchant for undercutting competitors have given it remarkable sway over the government’s purchasing decisions related to the vaccines.”

The article noted that the federal government paid $626 million to Emergent last year to produce a vaccine for fighting anthrax while the COVID-19 pandemic metastasized without the proper resources to mitigate its spread.

This resulted in the initial shortage of N95 masks and personal protective equipment for frontline workers during the early period of the pandemic, the Times said.

The Times based its reporting on “40,000 pages of documents, some previously undisclosed, and interviewing more than 60 people with inside knowledge of the stockpile.”

Emergent BioSolutions did not participate in the article.

What Happened Next: Rather than visit Emergent BioSolutions’ Maryland facility, Biden will conduct a meeting at the White House with executives from Merck & Co. MRK and Johnson & Johnson JNJ for an update on the vaccine rollout.

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, did not cite the Times’ coverage for the change of locations, stating, “we just felt it was a more appropriate place to have the meeting.”

Psaki added the administration would also “undertake a comprehensive review and audit of the national stockpile.”

Emergent BioSolutions is manufacturing vaccines for Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca AZN. The latter has not received emergency authorization from the federal government, although it has been approved in other countries.

The company did not publicly comment on the cancellation of the president’s visit, but it defended its business practices in a statement to the Times.

“When almost no one else would invest in preparing to protect the American public from grave threats, Emergent did, and the country is better prepared today because of it,” said Emergent spokeswoman Nina DeLorenzo.

EBS Price Action: Emergent BioSolutions shares were trading 4.42% higher at $90.04 at last check Tuesday.

Photo by jlhervàs/Flickr.