Leverkusen, Germany | Reuters –– Bayer’s US$63 billion purchase of seed and chemical firm Monsanto made its mark on the German company’s fourth quarter earnings on Wednesday, lifting profit and boding well for the peak season of its enlarged agriculture business. However, mounting litigation risks related to Monsanto still cast a pall over an adjusted […] Read more
Bayer reaps profit lift from Monsanto
Brazil health officials find glyphosate non-cancerous
Brasilia | Reuters — Analysts at Brazilian health agency Anvisa have determined that glyphosate herbicide does not cause cancer while recommending exposure limits as international pressure to reduce use of the chemical grows. Companies such as Bayer and its unit Monsanto, which produces glyphosate-based weedkillers, have faced legal challenges over allegations that glyphosate causes cancer. […] Read more
U.S. judge to allow controversial evidence in Roundup cancer trials
Reuters — A federal judge overseeing lawsuits alleging Bayer’s glyphosate-based Roundup herbicide causes cancer on Monday tentatively allowed pieces of controversial evidence that the company had hoped to exclude from upcoming trials. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria during a hearing in San Francisco federal court called his decision “probably most disappointing for Monsanto,” the Bayer […] Read more
France’s glyphosate exit seen 80 per cent complete by 2021
Paris | Reuters — France expects to have cut the use of glyphosate herbicide by 80 per cent by early 2021, its agriculture minister said on Friday, less than previously anticipated due to the number of farmers who will qualify for an exemption. In November 2017, President Emmanuel Macron pledged to ban glyphosate in France […] Read more
Health Canada dismisses glyphosate objections
Health Canada’s 2017 decision requiring no major changes to product labels for glyphosate herbicide will stand, despite the objections filed in its wake. The federal health department said Friday it has reviewed eight notices of objection received after it released its final re-evaluation decision on glyphosate in April 2017. The objections were filed with Health […] Read more
Bayer to shed animal health division, others after Monsanto deal
Frankfurt | Reuters — Bayer, the German drugmaker that bought U.S. seed company Monsanto, announced on Thursday the sale of its animal health business and a number of others, around 12,000 job cuts and 3.3 billion euros (C$4.98 billion) in impairments. CEO Werner Baumann is under pressure to boost Bayer’s share price after a drop […] Read more
U.S. judge selects first case in federal glyphosate litigation
Reuters — A U.S. judge overseeing the federal litigation against Bayer’s Monsanto unit over glyphosate-based herbicides allegedly causing cancer on Tuesday selected the first case to be tried in federal court in February 2019. U.S. District Judge Vince Chaabria in San Francisco in an order said the case of California resident Edwin Hardeman will be […] Read more
U.S. judge orders next glyphosate cancer trial for March
Reuters — A California judge on Thursday granted an expedited trial for March in the case of a couple suffering from cancer who sued Bayer’s Monsanto unit, alleging the company’s glyphosate-containing herbicide Roundup caused their disease. The order by Superior Court Judge Ioana Petrou in Oakland, Calif. comes on the heels of a $289 million […] Read more
Bayer CEO says would consider glyphosate settlement depending on costs
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
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
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