New York, Aug. 10, (dpa/GNA) – German pharmaceutical giant Bayer has lost a third appeal in a case over claims that its Roundup weedkiller is carcinogenic.
A court in San Francisco on Monday upheld a ruling that Bayer is liable for cancers suffered by plaintiffs Alberta and Alva Pilliod.
A jury in California first sentenced Bayer in 2019 to pay the couple damages and fines totalling around two billion dollars. The court later reduced the amount to 86.7 million dollars.
“We respectfully disagree with the Court’s ruling as the verdict is not supported by the evidence at trial or the law,” a spokesperson told dpa.
“Monsanto will consider its legal options in this case.”
“We continue to stand strongly behind the safety of Roundup, a position supported by four decades of extensive science and the assessments of leading health regulators worldwide that support its safe use,” the spokesperson added.
Bayer reached a 10.3-billion-dollar settlement package last year to resolve US claims resulting from alleged cancer risks linked to its glyphosate-based weedkillers.
Bayer has lost three US cases relating to the Roundup weedkiller, which led to more people taking legal action, charging they had contracted cancer through the use of Monsanto’s weedkillers.
An assessment by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicates that the agency doesn’t consider glyphosate to be a health risk when used as indicated.
Bayer acquired the Roundup weedkiller when it bought US agrochemicals company Monsanto in 2018.
GNA