German pharmaceutical giant Bayer has been hit with a landmark verdict by the State Court of Cobb County in Georgia, ordering it to pay a total of €1.9bn in connection with lawsuits alleging that its Roundup weed killer caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The decision marks one of the largest settlements in the long-running Roundup litigation saga, which has already cost Bayer around $10bn in previous cases.
Roundup, which Bayer acquired with Monsanto in 2018, is based on the herbicide glyphosate, a chemical that has been controversially linked to cancer. The lawsuit that led to this ruling was brought by a plaintiff who claims that long-term use of Roundup without adequate protective measures contributed to his diagnosis of large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The court’s decision imposes €1.9bn in punitive damages, alongside an additional €60m in compensatory damages.
Bayer, which has consistently defended the safety of glyphosate citing approvals from the US EPA and other regulatory bodies, insists that the damages are excessive and unconstitutional. The company has announced its intention to appeal the ruling, arguing that its scientific evidence supports the safety of its products and that state laws should not be used to impose such hefty penalties.
This case underscores the mounting legal pressures on Bayer, which has already set aside approximately $5.9bn (€5.4bn) for future legal costs related to Roundup lawsuits. The company now faces uncertainty over its ability to meet similar settlements for the thousands of pending cases. The outcome of this appeal could have significant implications not only for Bayer but also for the broader agricultural sector, where Roundup remains a key tool for managing weeds on crops such as corn, soybeans, and cotton.
