Text size
Investors rely on vaccines to end the viral crisis.
Kindness Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & JohnsonS
The Covid-19 vaccine offers a huge promise as a way out of the worst pandemics. Administered as a single dose without the extreme vaccination requirements of
Pfizer
and
Modern,
it could accelerate global inoculation if it proves effective.
But on Wednesday, the New York Times reported that the company was facing delays in making the vaccine, which put it two months behind its initial production schedule. The report comes amid growing anticipation for data from the phase 3 study of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine (ticker: JNJ), expected in the coming weeks.
Speaking at the JP Morgan Health Investors Conference on Monday, Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky said the company aims to have “hundreds of millions of doses” of the vaccine available in the first half of this year and “close to a billion ”by the end of the year.
“We are still on the right track to reach these volumes,” Gorsky said. “And again, we work day and night to see what else we can do to further accelerate this in an efficient and safe, compliant, high-quality way.”
But according to Wednesday’s New York Times report, the company lags behind in production commitments made to the federal government by Operation Warp Speed.
Under the terms of the agreement, announced in August, the company agreed to deliver 100 million doses of vaccine to the US government for $ 1 billion. The company did not disclose specific production targets at the time, but the New York Times reported Wednesday that it should have 12 million doses ready by the end of February.
The Times says the production schedule is now two months late. A Johnson & Johnson official interviewed by the Times did not comment on the production, but an official from Operation Warp Speed confirmed a delay in the newspaper. The Times reports that it now expects the company to reach its original production schedule by the end of April. By then, he had planned to release more than 60 million doses.
Johnson & Johnson did not immediately respond to a question from Barron’s about the Times report early Wednesday morning.
Johnson & Johnson shares rose 0.4% in premarket trading. The stock has gained 7.6% in the last 12 months.
Write to Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected]