Frankfurt (Germany)/New York, (EFE).- A judge from Pennsylvania (USA) has reduced from $2.25 billion to $400 million a sentence imposed on the German pharmaceutical company Bayer for the herbicide Roundup.
According to several German media reports, Judge Susan Schulman has accepted some of Bayer’s objections and has reduced the amount to be paid to $50 million in compensatory damages and $350 million in punitive damages.
Ruling in favor of a user for developing cancer
A Pennsylvania court ruled last January in favor of a former Roundup user, after he alleged that he had developed cancer from prolonged exposure to this herbicide, which contains glyphosate and was developed by Monsanto – a company that the German company acquired in 2018.
The court then sentenced the German pharmaceutical company to pay compensation of 250 million dollars and a fine of 2 billion for punitive damages, which resulted in the largest compensation to date for the use of this chemical.
Bayer satisfied
After the reduction of this compensation, Bayer has been satisfied, but has confirmed its intention to appeal to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, since they allege that the process was marked “by serious errors that can and should be corrected.”
And it has also remained firm in its support for the herbicide: “The company supports Roundup and the overwhelming weight of scientific research (…). “No regulatory authority that has independently evaluated glyphosate has deemed it carcinogenic.”
Different lawsuits against Monsanto
The acquisition of Monsanto for $63 billion has led the German pharmaceutical company to face multiple legal claims.
In the United States, a total of 165,000 lawsuits have been filed against Monsanto, a large part of which have been neutralized by Bayer in settlements of up to $9.6 billion. However, more than 50,000 claims still remain to be resolved.
Lawsuits against Monsanto were triggered in 2015 after the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, could be carcinogenic.
Losses due to litigation
In 2023, Bayer lost 2,941 million euros (about 3,194 million dollars) and reduced its turnover by 6.1% compared to the previous year, partly due to litigation and its high levels of debt, according to its results published on last May.
Given these figures, the company said that over the next three years it will focus on building a strong product portfolio, addressing litigation, reducing debt and making substantial layoffs to save €2 billion annually from 2026.
Although the German company reduced the sale of Roundup for home use, the item remains one of the most used herbicides in the country.
