A company that sold in-home COVID-19 antibody test kits that were not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has agreed to pay a $50,000 civil penalty and made full refunds to consumers who bought the tests, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced today.
The settlement, pending court approval, also requires Applied BioSciences Corp. to comply with a permanent injunction barring the company from selling unapproved tests in the future, according to the City Attorney’s Office.
The enforcement action was filed last year by the City Attorney’s Office and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office against the company, its president, Chris Bridges, and its chairman, Scott Stevens.
The City Attorney’s Office confirmed that the company — which has offices in Beverly Hills — refunded about $25,000 to consumers who bought more than 1,000 tests in all.
“With our hospitals and healthcare workers overwhelmed with COVID-19, it’s never been more crucial to pull unauthorized tests — the results of which can’t be trusted,” Feuer said in a statement.
District Attorney George Gascon added, “We will not tolerate the false and dangerous marketing of ineffective and unproven COVID-19 tests in Los Angeles County. The harm is not only financial, but also potentially deadly.”
