LEVERKUSEN (dpa-AFX) - Shares of Bayer AG (BAYZF.PK, BAYRY.PK, BYR.L) are losing more than 10 percent in Wednesday's trading after a San Francisco federal jury found that exposure to the company's Roundup weedkiller caused a man's cancer.
Bayer took control of Roundup following its $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto last year. The jury will now decided whether Monsanto will be held liable.
The jury found that Roundup was a 'substantial factor' in causing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 70-year-old Edwin Hardeman, who used the product for decades on the garden at his California home.
In response to the verdict, Bayer said, 'We are disappointed with the jury's initial decision, but we continue to believe firmly that the science confirms that glyphosate-based herbicides do not cause cancer. We are confident the evidence in phase two will show that Monsanto's conduct has been appropriate and that the company should not be liable for Mr. Hardeman's cancer.'
Roundup has come under increased scrutiny following the 2015 determination from the World Health Organization that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicides, is probably carcinogenic.
This is the second verdict in the U.S. to find a link between glyphosate and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
In August 2018, another San Francisco jury ordered Monsanto to pay $289.2 million in a lawsuit over whether exposure to two of its powerful weed killers, Ranger Pro and Roundup, caused cancer.
The jury unanimously found that the company's Ranger Pro and Roundup products presented a 'substantial danger' to consumers, and that Monsanto knew or should have known of potential risks and failed to warn consumers like Dewayne 'Lee' Johnson.
Johnson had worked as a groundskeeper for the Benicia Unified School District in the San Francisco Bay-area and was also diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. However, a San Francisco judge later reduced the damages payout to $78.5 million.
Bayer also faces lawsuits from more than 11,000 farmers, home gardeners and landscapers.
In Germany, Bayer's shares are down 7.18 euros or 10.30 percent to 62.52 euros.
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