CEO Of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Manufacturer Sold $10 Million Of The Company Stocks Before Contamination Scandal

The president and CEO of Emergent BioSolutions, the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer, sold more than $10 million worth of stocks before millions of doses of the vaccine were ruined at a Baltimore facility.

According to the Post, Robert G. Kramer sold off shares of the company in late January and again in early February totaling over $10 million. Those shares are now worth nearly $5.5 million. These massive sales came just before 15 million doses of the J&J vaccine were contaminated, causing a vaccine shortage. However, a spokesperson for Emergent says that the sale was already scheduled to take place.

“All of Mr. Kramer’s sales were previously scheduled under 10b5-1 trading plans,” said Emergent spokesperson Nina DeLorenzo. She added that Kramer and the remainder of the executive team are held to “the highest ethical standards and follow strict compliance with all laws and regulations governing financial transactions.”

The stock sale earlier this year was Kramer’s first significant sale of Emergent stock since 2016, which was the subject of a lawsuit. In their suit, investors claimed that the company leaders sold their shares after making several misleading claims about a government order for an anthrax vaccine. Emergent paid investors $6.5 million in a settlement, despite denying the allegations.