Shares in Germany’s Bayer up after weedkiller court win

Frankfurt, Germany — Shares in German chemicals giant Bayer jumped more than 10 percent Friday after a US court victory in the group’s long-running fight against claims its glyphosate-based weedkillers cause cancer.

An appeals court in Pennsylvania on Thursday rejected a claim by a landscaper that Bayer’s Monsanto unit broke state laws by not putting a cancer warning on its Roundup weedkiller.

The three-judge panel found that federal laws require uniformity in pesticide labels nationwide, which meant Pennsylvania could not add a warning label.

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The plaintiff was diagnosed with a type of cancer called Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2006 after being exposed to Roundup.

Bayer said it was “pleased” with the ruling, noting that it conflicted with decisions in other US appeals courts, and calling on the Supreme Court to step in and “settle this important issue of law”.

A Supreme Court ruling in Monsanto’s favour could have an impact on the many outstanding cases related to Roundup, and reduce Bayer’s liabilities.

Bayer’s share price jumped 11 percent to over 29 euros ($32) on Frankfurt’s DAX index, while the broader index was about 0.70 percent higher.

Bayer acquired Monsanto in 2018, but the blockbuster $63-billion deal quickly turned sour.

It inherited the US firm’s legal woes in relation to Roundup, which is based on the active ingredient glyphosate, and has since faced a wave of lawsuits in the United States over claims it causes cancer.

Bayer has consistently rejected such claims.

Glyphosate is nonetheless classified as a “probable carcinogen” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer at the World Health Organization (WHO).

About 172,000 cases had been brought against the group in relation to the weedkillers as of the end of June, some 114,000 of which had been settled or dismissed.

Bayer, also a major producer of pharmaceuticals including Aspirin, plunged deep into the red last year, in part due to woes related to its weedkillers.