Covid Vaccine Makers Are ‘Tempting Targets’ for Investor Suits

Shareholder lawsuits over the contamination of millions of Covid-19 vaccine doses mark the latest in a shifting landscape for corporate accountability as the private sector treads through challenges wrought by the pandemic.

Emergent Biosolutions Inc. and its leadership face at least five lawsuits from disgruntled investors after shares plummeted following findings that the manufacturer’s staff mixed up ingredients for the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines. The complaints allege Emergent leaders failed to disclose quality control issues while promising to get vaccines out the door—which artificially inflated stock prices.

The cases spotlight a growing trend of shareholders pursuing litigation amid ...