Almost 1 Million Australians Aged Over 70 Now Taking 5 Or More Drugs A Day
July 12, 2019
U.S. House Of Representatives Orders The Pentagon To Investigate Whether Ticks Were Used As Bioweapons
July 16, 2019

U.S. Judge Slashes Roundup Weedkiller Damages Award To $25.3 Million, But Bayer Still Plans To Appeal

NEWS

A U.S. federal judge has slashed the damages awarded to Edwin Hardeman, a California man who developed cancer as a result of using Roundup, a weedkiller, to control weeds on his property. But Bayer, the company that produces the toxic chemical, claims it isn’t carcinogenic and says it still plans to appeal.

COMMENT

Having bought Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup, in 2018, Bayer immediately became liable for any lawsuits brought against the firm and its products. Notably, therefore, since the takeover, juries in three separate trials have found that Roundup, a glyphosate-based weedkiller, was responsible for causing cancer in people exposed to it. There have also now been around 11,000 further lawsuits filed against Bayer. As such, with its share price having essentially halved over the past 2 years, it is no exaggeration to say that the company is fighting for its life.

In modern times we arguably haven’t seen a more potentially perilous period. The future of one of the largest – and oldest – multinational pharmaceutical/chemical companies is now at stake. With some analysts already publicly predicting the death of Bayer, the company’s share price will undoubtedly continue to tumble.

There are now only a few extraordinary events that can save Bayer. The most disturbing of these would be a public distraction scenario that dwarfed even the horror of the world-changing events that took place in New York on September 11, 2001. To understand why we are concerned about this as a possibility, read this article on our website.

Read news story at reuters.com