Benzinga | Jul 6, 2021 06:53AM EDT

FDA Releases More JNJ's COVID-19 Vaccine Substance From Baltimore Plant

* Federal regulators on Friday cleared another batch of the main ingredient for Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE:JNJ) COVID-19 vaccine, made at Emergent BioSolutions Inc's (NYSE:EBS) Baltimore facility.

* The cleared batch can furnish up to 15 million doses of the single-dose shot, Bloomberg reported.

* The move brings the total number of Johnson & Johnson doses made at the troubled plant and cleared by the agency to around 40 million.

* But Johnson & Johnson remains far short of its commitment to deliver 100 million doses to the federal government by the end of June. European Union officials have said the company is missing its delivery targets there, as well.

* The substance cleared on Friday is not yet bottled.

* The FDA has not provided a full clearance to the facility to release all its doses, nor has it allowed it to resume production.

* On Thursday, the company said that its COVID-19 vaccine showed strong promise against the Delta variant and other emerging strains of the virus.

* Last month, the FDA asked the company to discard 60 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine manufactured at the Baltimore plant and allowed 10 million doses.

* Price Action: JNJ shares closed at $168.98 on Friday.