Bayer shares slump after court tells firm to pay $2.25 billion over Monsanto weedkiller lawsuit

By Louis Goss

Shares in Bayer fell 5% on Monday after a Philadelphia jury told the German pharmaceutical company to pay $2.25 billion to a man who says he developed cancer due to using its Roundup branded weedkiller.

A jury at Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas awarded John McKivision $2 billion in punitive damages and an additional $250 million in compensatory damages in ruling the claimant developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma as a result of exposure to Bayer's glyphosate-based weedkiller.

Shares in Bayer (DE:BAYA) fell 5% on Monday having lost 46% of their value over the past 12 months.

Bayer has faced around 165,000 lawsuits from Roundup customers who claim they developed cancer due to using the glyphosate-based weedkiller, which was first developed by Monsanto in the 1970s, prior to the U.S. company's acquisition by Bayer for $66 billion in 2018.

"The jury's punitive damages award sends a clear message that this multi-national corporation needs top to bottom change," McKivision's attorneys Tom Kline and Jason Itkin told Reuters. Lawyers acting for McKivision were contacted by MarketWatch for comment.

In a statement, Bayer vowed to appeal the Philadelphia court's decision. The German company has repeatedly denied that exposure to its glyphosate-based weedkiller is responsible for its customers developing illnesses.

"We cannot understand the jury's verdict, which contradicts the scientific evidence and the assessments of regulators around the world," Bayer said in a statement.

"We are confident that we have strong arguments on appeal to overturn this verdict or at least reduce the unconstitutionally excessive damages."

Bayer said even in cases it's lost, damages have been reduced by 90%, and that it's won 10 of the 16 Roundup lawsuits.

"We will continue to litigate cases because it has been proven that we win cases when plaintiffs' attorneys cannot misrepresent the scientific and regulatory assessments," the company added.

-Louis Goss

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01-29-24 0814ET

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