Emergent Biosolutions officials facing questions from lawmakers as part of vaccine probe

The biotech firm Emergent Biosolutions is facing a congressional inquiry Wednesday over alleged deficiencies in their manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccine ingredients.

The beleaguered biotech firm Emergent Biosolutions will face a congressional inquiry Wednesday, scrutinized for what investigators say are the "serious deficiencies" in their manufacturing that led to up to 15 million doses' worth of COVID-19 vaccine ingredients being compromised and disposed of because of cross-contamination. Top Emergent executives Fuad El-Hibri, the company's founder and executive chairman, and Robert Kramer, its chief executive officer, will appear on Capitol Hill as part of a congressional investigation into their company's manufacturing issues, and whether the firm leveraged its ties with the Trump administration to improperly secure their pandemic contract worth millions of dollars. Emergent has pointed to its longstanding record working with federal leaders of all political stripes, and has emphasized the urgency of the pandemic setting -- that the "rapid scale up of manufacturing had never been done before in the history of the planet," a spokesperson said. "Emergent has performed many vital missions for the United States Government since its founding in 1998, and especially since the nation focused on the critical importance of biodefense after the September 11th terrorist attack and subsequent anthrax attacks," a spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News Wednesday morning. "We look forward to clarifying misconceptions and addressing the Committee's concerns. At this time, our focus is on the path forward to release drug substance currently under evaluation, to resume production, and to do our part to help strengthen the global supply chain for Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine."