Bayer wins first court case in Roundup child cancer battle
pharmafile | October 6, 2021 | News story | Medical Communications, Research and Development |
Bayer AG has won its first court case over claims its Roundup weed killer causes cancer after a California jury found that the herbicide was not a substantial cause of a child’s rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
In the trial, Destiny Clark alleged that her son Ezra developed Burkitt’s lymphoma after he was exposed to Roundup which she sprayed on weeds at the family’s home.
Clark went on to sue Monsanto, which is owned by Bayer, for failing to warn her of the cancer risks of using Roundup. However, Clark is the first unsuccessful complainant with three other court cases on this issue having ruled against Bayer.
Roundup-related lawsuits have dogged Bayer since it acquired the brand as part of its $63 billion purchase of the agricultural seeds and pesticides maker, Monsanto, in 2018.
Bayer said in a statement the verdict was consistent with decades of science and research showing the safety of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup.
The company said: “While we have great sympathy for Ezra Clark and his family, the jury carefully considered the science applicable to this case and determined that Roundup was not the cause of his illness.”
Two of the other three verdicts are currently being appealed by Bayer, including one that the company hopes will be considered by the US Supreme Court, where a ruling for Bayer could effectively end the Roundup cases.
To date, Bayer have settled around 96,000 Roundup cases of about 125,000.
In May, a federal judge rejected Bayer’s plan to resolve future cases, which would have provided compensation but limited the ability of individuals to sue. Bayer said that the $2 billion plan put forward was “designed to help the company achieve a level of risk mitigation that is comparable to the previously proposed national class solution.”
Because Roundup remains on the market and because there is a 10-year to 15-year lag between exposure and the onset of symptoms, Bayer also faces years of future litigation from people who use glyphosate on their lawns and farms.
Kat Jenkins
