Bayer share price down 1% after $80 million cancer lawsuit loss

Bayer AG share price is down by 1% after losing an $80 million lawsuit brought by a man that claimed that its Roundup weed killer caused him to contract cancer. This lawsuit is one of thousands that the corporation faces since purchasing Roundup maker Monsanto.

Why did Bayer lose an $80 million lawsuit?

Edwin Hardeman filed a lawsuit against Bayer and Monsanto after claiming that using the product for decades on his property caused him to contract cancer. He and his lawyers maintain that the glysophate herbicide in Roundup came into contact with his skin and led him to develop stage 3 non-Hodgkins’s lymphoma. A jury found Bayer and Monsanto liable and awarded Hardeman $80 million in damages. In August, another man won $79 million in damages against the company. Jennifer Moore, one of Hardeman’s lawyers, criticised Monsanto after the verdict.

‘Today, the jury sent a message loud and clear that companies should no longer put products on the market for anyone to buy without being truthful, without testing their product and without warning if it causes cancer,’ said Moore.

Bayer’s response to the Roundup lawsuit loss

Bayer denied that Roundup causes cancer and expressed disappointment with the verdict. The corporation also said they will appeal the decision.

‘We are disappointed with the jury's decision, but this verdict does not change the weight of over four decades of extensive science and the conclusions of regulators worldwide that support the safety of our glyphosate-based herbicides and that they are not carcinogenic. The verdict in this trial has no impact on future cases and trials, as each one has its own factual and legal circumstances,’ said Bayer in a statement.

There is conflicting evidence about whether Roundup causes cancer or not. France’s International Agency for Research on Cancer called Roundup a ‘probable human carcinogen.’ However, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the herbicide is safe to use.