Bayer said Tuesday that its Monsanto unit has proposed a new $7.25 billion settlement to resolve US lawsuits claiming its Roundup weedkiller caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma, expanding the company’s total litigation liability tied to the product.
If approved by a court, the agreement would allow people diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma who were exposed to Roundup before Feb. 17 to file claims for compensation.
Payments would be made over as many as 21 years, with most of the money expected to go out in the first five years. The deal covers both current and future claims related to the cancer.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that starts in white blood cells called lymphocytes, which help the body fight infections.
Bayer said the proposed settlement does not include any admission of wrongdoing.
The company added that the new agreement would raise its total Roundup-related litigation liability from 7.8 billion euros ($9.2 billion) to 11.8 billion euros ($13.9 billion), CBS News reported.
“This doesn’t work unless there is closure,” CEO Bill Anderson said, noting that the company expects most people with pending claims to participate in the settlement.
Bayer Proposes $7.25 Billion Settlement
Bayer has faced years of legal challenges since acquiring Monsanto in 2018 for $63 billion. Roundup, first developed in the 1970s, contains glyphosate as its active ingredient.
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen.
Bayer and regulators such as the US Environmental Protection Agency have disputed that finding and maintain that Roundup is safe when used as directed.
According to BBC, the company has already paid roughly $10 billion to resolve about 130,000 claims.
However, it still faces around 65,000 additional cases, with the risk of more emerging because non-Hodgkin lymphoma can take years to develop.
In 2020, Bayer agreed to pay up to $10.9 billion to settle earlier claims. In 2023, a California jury awarded $332 million to a man who alleged Monsanto failed to warn users about potential risks.
Alongside the new $7.25 billion proposal, Bayer said it expects to pay another $3 billion to settle separate Roundup-related cases, including claims from several US states.
Originally published on vcpost.com
