German biotech heavyweight Bayer AG has proposed a sweeping Bayer $7.25 billion settlement to bring finality to years of U.S. litigation over claims that its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer.
The proposal marks the company’s latest — and largest — effort to close the chapter on legal battles that have trailed it since its $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto eight years ago. Roundup, Monsanto’s flagship herbicide, has been at the center of mounting jury verdicts and mounting payouts.
A Push for Closure
Bayer has already paid roughly $10 billion to resolve Roundup-related lawsuits. The newly proposed $7.25 billion agreement would address both existing and future claims tied to non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of blood cancer.
Chief Executive Bill Anderson said the settlement is designed to secure long-sought certainty.
“This doesn’t work unless there is closure,” Anderson said, adding that he expects the vast majority of individuals with pending claims to participate in the proposed resolution.
The deal has backing from several key plaintiffs’ groups but must receive judicial approval before taking effect.
