Pharmalittle: U.S. puts J&J in charge of plant that botched Covid-19 vaccines; pharmacies offering Covid shots raise privacy concerns

The U.S. government has moved to stop any further risk of contamination at a Baltimore plant run by Emergent BioSolutions (EBS) where 15 million potential doses of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) vaccine were spoiled last month, telling AstraZeneca (AZN) it must move its production from the facility and find somewhere else to make its vaccine, CNN says. The Biden administration directed J&J to fully take over its vaccine production at the plant. AstraZeneca vaccine will now be produced at another facility, although the administration did not specify where.

Millions of Americans streaming through retail pharmacies to receive Covid-19 vaccines have no choice but to hand over their personal information to those companies, raising red flags for privacy watchdogs who are pressing for oversight of how the pharmacies may use the data bonanza to boost their profits, Politico reports. While providing vaccinations themselves is not a major moneymaker for the retailers, they have been able to scoop up data on new customers that could prove to be valuable.

The Food and Drug Administration rejected a bid by Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) to expand the use of its Nuplazid anti-psychosis drug to a broader group of patients, STAT reports. The decision was widely expected following a March 8 letter sent by the agency to Acadia, citing undefined “deficiencies” in the Nuplazid application. Acadia was seeking authorization to market Nuplazid to treat a broad group of patients with dementia-related psychosis, but the FDA rejected the request, citing a lack of statistical significance in some dementia subgroups.