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Litigation
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Litigation Litigation
Securities and shareholder litigation
With respect to the specific legal proceedings and claims described below, unless otherwise noted, the amount or range of possible losses is not reasonably estimable. There can be no assurance that the settlement, resolution, or other outcome of one or more matters, including the matters set forth below, during any subsequent reporting period will not have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations or cash flows for that period or on the Company's financial condition.
On April 20, 2021, May 14, 2021, and June 2, 2021, putative class action lawsuits were filed against the Company and certain of its current and former senior officers in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland on behalf of purchasers of the Company’s common stock, seeking to pursue remedies under the Exchange Act. These complaints were filed by Palm Tran, Inc. – Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1577 Pension Plan; Alan I. Roth; and Stephen M. Weiss, respectively. The complaints allege, among other things, that the defendants made false and misleading statements about the Company's manufacturing capabilities with respect to COVID-19 vaccine bulk drug substance (referred to herein as "CDMO Manufacturing Capabilities"). These cases were consolidated on December 23, 2021, under the caption In re Emergent BioSolutions Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 8:21-cv-00955-PWG (the "Federal Securities Class Action"). The lead plaintiffs in the consolidated matter (the "Lead Plaintiffs") are Nova Scotia Health Employees’ Pension Plan and The City of Fort Lauderdale Police & Firefighters’ Retirement System. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss on May 19, 2022 and the Lead Plaintiffs filed an opposition to that motion on July 19, 2022. A hearing on the motion to dismiss was conducted on April 19, 2023 and an order was entered on September 1, 2023, granting in part and denying in part the motion to dismiss. The defendant's answer to the complaint was filed on October 30, 2023. The defendants believe that the allegations in the complaints are without merit and intend to defend the matters vigorously. Given the uncertainty of litigation, the preliminary stage of the cases, and the legal standards that must be met for, among other things, class certification and success on the merits, the Company cannot reasonably estimate the possible loss or range of loss, if any, that may result from the consolidated action.
On June 29, 2021, Lincolnshire Police Pension Fund (“Lincolnshire”), and on August 16, 2021, Pooja Sayal, filed putative shareholder derivative lawsuits in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland on behalf of the Company against certain of the Company's current and former officers and directors for breach of fiduciary duties, waste of corporate assets, and unjust enrichment, each allegation related to the CDMO Manufacturing Capabilities. In addition to monetary damages, the complaints seek the implementation of multiple corporate governance and internal policy changes. On November 16, 2021, the cases were consolidated under the caption In re Emergent BioSolutions Inc. Stockholder Derivative Litigation, Master Case No. 8:21-cv-01595-PWG. On January 3, 2022, the Lincolnshire complaint was designated as the operative complaint in the consolidated action. On April 13, 2022, the Court approved the parties' joint stipulation to and stay of the proceedings and discovery until the close of fact discovery in the Federal Securities Class Action. The defendants believe that the allegations in the complaints are without merit and intend to defend the matter vigorously.
On September 15, 2021, September 16, 2021 and November 12, 2021, putative shareholder derivative lawsuits were filed by Chang Kyum Kim, Mark Nevins and Employees Retirement System of the State of Rhode Island, North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District Firefighters Pension Plan, and Pembroke Pines Firefighters & Police Officers Pension Fund, respectively, in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware on behalf of the Company against certain of its current and former officers and directors for breach of fiduciary duties, unjust enrichment and insider trading, each allegation related to the CDMO Manufacturing Capabilities. In addition to monetary damages, the complaints seek the implementation of multiple corporate governance and internal policy changes. On February 2, 2022, the cases were consolidated under the caption In re Emergent BioSolutions, Inc. Derivative Litigation, C.A. No. 2021-0974-MTZ with the institutional investors as co-lead plaintiffs. On March 4, 2022, the defendants’ filed a motion to dismiss the complaint. Ruling on this motion is stayed pursuant to a March 29, 2022 order staying all proceedings pending a final, non-appealable judgment in the Federal Securities Class Action.
On December 3, 2021, December 22, 2021 and January 18, 2022, putative shareholder derivative lawsuits were filed by Zachary Elton, Eric White and Jeffrey Reynolds in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland on behalf of the Company against certain of its current and former officers and directors for breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, waste of corporate assets, failing to maintain internal controls, making or causing to be made false and/or misleading statements and material omissions, insider trading and otherwise violating the federal securities laws, each allegation related to the CDMO Manufacturing Capabilities. The complaints seek monetary and punitive damages. On February 22, 2022, the Court entered an order consolidating these actions under case number C-15-21-CV-000496. On March 9, 2022, the parties filed a Joint Stipulation of Stay of Proceedings and Discovery, pursuant to which the parties agreed to stay all proceedings until 30 calendar days after a ruling on the defendants’ motion to dismiss, and on November 2, 2023, the Court approved the parties' joint stipulation to extend the stay of the proceedings and discovery until the close of fact discovery in the Federal Securities Class Action.
In addition to the above actions, the Company has received inquiries and subpoenas to produce documents related to these matters from the Department of Justice, the SEC, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, and the New York Attorney General’s Office. The Company produced or is producing documents as required in response and will continue to cooperate with these government inquiries. The Company also received inquiries and subpoenas from Representative Carolyn Maloney and Representative Jim Clyburn, members of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis and Senator Murray of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. The Company produced documents and provided testimony and briefings as requested in response to these inquiries.
2022 Termination of manufacturing services agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
On July 2, 2020, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Emergent Manufacturing Operations Baltimore, LLC, entered into the Janssen Agreement with Janssen, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, for large-scale drug substance manufacturing of Johnson & Johnson’s investigational SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, Ad26.COV2-S, recombinant based on the AdVac technology (the “Product”).
On June 6, 2022, the Company provided to Janssen a notice (the “Notice”) of material breach of the Janssen Agreement for, among other things, failure by Janssen (i) to provide the Company the requisite forecasts of the required quantity of Product to be purchased by Janssen under the Janssen Agreement and (ii) to confirm Janssen’s intent to not purchase the requisite minimum quantity of the Product pursuant to the Janssen Agreement and instead, wind-down the Janssen Agreement ahead of fulfilling these minimum requirements. On June 6, 2022, the Company received from Janssen a purported written notice of termination (the “Janssen Notice”) of the Janssen Agreement for asserted material breaches of the Janssen Agreement by the Company, including alleged failure by the Company to perform its obligations in compliance with current good manufacturing practices ("cGMP") or other applicable laws and regulations and alleged failure by the Company to supply Janssen with the Product. Janssen alleged that the Company’s breaches were not curable and that, therefore, termination of the Janssen Agreement would be effective as of July 6, 2022. The Company disputes Janssen's assertions and allegations, including Janssen's ability to effect termination pursuant to the Janssen Notice. The Company and Janssen disagree on the monetary amounts that are due to the Company as a result of termination by any means. The Company believes the amounts due to the Company include, but are not limited to, compensation for services provided, reimbursement for raw materials purchased and non-cancelable orders, and fees for early termination. Janssen has alleged that no additional amount is due to the Company and that the Company should pay Janssen an unspecified amount as a result of the Company's alleged failure to perform under the Janssen Agreement. The Company is currently engaged in a confidential arbitration with Janssen. The Company has not recorded any contingent liabilities related to Janssen's allegations as the Company believes they are without merit and intends to vigorously defend the Company's position during the dispute resolution process through arbitration.
During the three months ended March 31, 2024, there were no impacts on previously recognized revenue or depreciation related to the conclusion of the Janssen Agreement. As of March 31, 2024, the Company has no billed or unbilled net accounts receivable related to the Janssen Agreement.
Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2022, because the arbitration process with Janssen is expected to extend longer than one year, the Company reclassified amounts related to the Janssen Agreement from "Inventories, net" and from "Prepaid expenses and other current assets" to "Other assets", resulting in $152.7 million in long-term assets related to the Janssen Agreement on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2022. The long-term asset balance within "Other Assets" related to the Janssen Agreement as of March 31, 2024 was $158.8 million. These assets include termination penalties, certain inventory related items and raw materials inventory representing materials purchased for the Janssen Agreement which Janssen has not reimbursed. The Company evaluated the net realizable value of the inventory as of March 31, 2024, concluding that because the Janssen Agreement specifies the Company is entitled to, among other things, reimbursement of raw materials and non-cancelable orders in the event of a contract termination for any reason, the Company is entitled to payment from Janssen for these raw materials. As of March 31, 2024, all non-cancelable orders have been received by Janssen and are included in the long-term asset balance within "Other Assets".