EMD Bioscience pays $904,500 civil fine for U.S. export violations

EMD Bioscience pays $904,500 civil fine for U.S. export violations

   EMD Bioscience of San Diego, Calif., has agreed to pay a $904,500 civil penalty to settle charges it exported biological toxins to Canada in violation of U.S. export control rules.

   Under terms of the agreement with the U.S. Commerce Department, EMD’s export privileges were denied for two years, all which is suspended provided that EMD commits no more violations during the suspension period.

   The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security charged that between June 2002 and July 2003, EMD committed 134 violations of the Export Administration Regulations stemming from 67 exports of biological toxins to Canada. These shipments require export licenses from the agency.

   Export controls on biological toxins are part of the U.S. obligations as a member of the Australia Group, a multilateral regime whose members are committed to curbing the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons.

   According to the Commerce Department, this is not the first time EMD violated the country’s export regulations. When the company was known as CN Biosciences, it agreed to pay a civil penalty of $708,000 to the Commerce Department in 1999 to settle charges that between July 1992 and January 1994 it made 171 unlicensed shipments to various destinations. The department suspended $354,000 of the civil penalty for one year provided that CN committed no further violations of the export control regulations during that time.