Bayer's stock rose sharply following a U.S. court ruling in the Roundup case
Shares of the German company Bayer jumped 17% following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Roundup herbicide case. The court overturned the multimillion-dollar damages previously awarded to the plaintiff and ruled that the company was not required to warn of the risk of cancer under federal law.
The U.S. Supreme Court handed down an important ruling in favor of the German chemical company Bayer AG, which has been embroiled in litigation over the Roundup herbicide for several years. The court overturned the verdict of a Missouri jury, which had previously awarded the plaintiff $1.25 million in damages. The man claimed that he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after using the herbicide. In his view, the manufacturer should have warned buyers about the potential risk of developing cancer.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court, by a majority vote of seven to two, ruled in Bayer’s favor. The justices concluded that federal law takes precedence over state laws. That is why the company was not required to include an additional warning on the packaging about the potential risk of cancer. “The company was not required to include a cancer warning under federal law,” the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling states.
The Roundup herbicide was developed by the American company Monsanto, which Bayer acquired in 2018 for $63 billion. It was after this deal that the German conglomerate faced thousands of lawsuits from people who linked their cancer to the use of the product. Although Bayer has already paid billions of dollars in compensation under previous settlement agreements, the company continues to maintain that Roundup is safe when used properly.
According to Bloomberg, the Supreme Court’s ruling could significantly strengthen Bayer’s position in future lawsuits. The company is currently facing approximately 67,000 similar lawsuits. The news immediately had a positive impact on investor sentiment. During Thursday’s trading session, Bayer’s stock rose by about 17%, marking one of the company’s most significant price jumps in recent times, according to Bloomberg.
The German pharmaceutical company Bayer Healthcare LLC has filed a lawsuit in the Kyiv Commercial Court against the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and the Turkish company Nobel Ilac. The company is seeking to block the registration of its drug “Sofexan”—a generic version of the expensive anticancer drug “Nexavar.”
Roundup, a weed killer popular among Ukrainian farmers, has led to tens of thousands of lawsuits in the U.S. against Bayer. Americans have complained that it causes cancer.
