St. Louis | Reuters – Bayer AG’s chief executive said this week the company might consider settling lawsuits over Monsanto’s glyphosate-containing weed-killers depending on how high court costs rise, but stressed it remained focused on defending the combined company against claims they cause cancer. Bayer acquired Monsanto this year for $63 billion. “If we can settle […] Read more

Bayer CEO says would consider glyphosate settlement depending on costs

U.S. judge affirms Monsanto weed-killer verdict, slashes damages
Reuters – A U.S. judge on Monday affirmed a verdict against Bayer AG unit Monsanto that found its glyphosate-based weed-killers responsible for a man’s terminal cancer, sending the German company’s shares down 8 percent. In a ruling by San Francisco’s Superior Court of California, Judge Suzanne Bolanos said she would slash the punitive damages award […] Read more
Applications open for 2019 Youth Ag Summit in Brazil
Reading Time: < 1 minute Applications are being accepted for the 2019 Youth Ag Summit in Brazil. The event, sponsored by Bayer, brings together 100 young people aged 18 to 25 from across the globe to develop solutions on how to feed a hungry planet in a more sustainable manner. The first summit took place in Calgary in 2013 and […] Read more

Bayer likely to get new trial in glyphosate case
San Francisco | Reuters — Bayer’s Monsanto unit was likely to get a new trial on the US$250 million in punitive damages awarded by a jury to a groundskeeper who alleged the company’s glyphosate-based herbicides, including Roundup, caused his cancer. According to a Wednesday court filing in San Francisco’s Superior Court of California, Judge Suzanne […] Read more

Ag trade flows may change amid trade dispute, Bayer says
Monheim | Reuters — Bayer said on Tuesday it would be difficult to predict 2019 earnings at its agriculture business, which now includes Monsanto, because a U.S.-Chinese trade dispute could reroute global trade flows in farming commodities. The head of Bayer’s crop science division told Reuters his company could even benefit if U.S. farmers switched […] Read more

With drugs pipeline in focus, Bayer seen considering cuts
Frankfurt | Reuters — Bayer is considering job cuts and outsourcing as part of a wide-ranging review of drug research and development that will last until at least November, a person familiar with the company told Reuters. The prospect of “very tangible changes” contributed to a decision by key board members to extend the contract […] Read more

Brazilian court overturns ban on glyphosate
Brasilia | Reuters — A Brazilian court on Monday overturned an injunction banning products containing the herbicide glyphosate, knocking down a previous ruling that had been set to disrupt the soy planting season set to begin this month. A Brazilian judge ruled last month to halt the registration of new glyphosate-based products in the country […] Read more

Roundup cancer verdict sends Bayer shares sliding
Frankfurt | Reuters — Bayer shares plunged as much as 14 per cent on Monday, losing about US$14 billion in value, after newly acquired Monsanto was ordered to pay US$289 million in damages in the first of possibly thousands of U.S. lawsuits over alleged links between a weedkiller and cancer. After the verdict […] Read more

Glyphosate maker Monsanto ruled liable in U.S. cancer trial
Reuters — A California jury on Friday found Monsanto liable in a lawsuit filed by a man who alleged the company’s glyphosate-based herbicides, including Roundup, caused his cancer and ordered the company to pay US$289 million in damages. The case of school groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson was the first lawsuit to go to trial alleging glyphosate […] Read more

U.S. judge allows Roundup-related suits to go to trial
Reuters — Hundreds of lawsuits against Monsanto Co. by cancer survivors or families of those who died can proceed to trial, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday, finding there was sufficient evidence for a jury to hear the cases that blame the company’s glyphosate herbicide for the disease. The decision by U.S. District Judge Vince […] Read more