STAT Plus: Inovio sues a key contract manufacturer as it races to develop a Covid-19 vaccine
As the race to develop a Covid-19 vaccine accelerates, Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO) filed a lawsuit claiming it is being held “hostage” by its long-standing contract manufacturer, which is refusing to provide crucial data needed to scale up vaccine production.
In arguing its case, Inovio maintained that a supply agreement requires the manufacturer, VGXI, to transfer technology know-how to other contract manufacturers if it declines to make a vaccine for Inovio. And recently, VGXI told Inovio that it cannot manufacture further batches of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine this year because it lacks manufacturing capacity, according to the lawsuit, filed in a Pennsylvania state court.
