Bayer Hopes US Court Revises Ruling On Allegedly Cancer-Causing Weedkiller - Statement

German pharmaceutical company Bayer, which now owns US agrochemical corporation Monsanto, expressed hope on Thursday that a court decision to award compensation to a US groundskeeper, who reportedly got cancer after using Monsanto's weedkiller, would be later revised.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th August, 2018) German pharmaceutical company Bayer, which now owns US agrochemical corporation Monsanto, expressed hope on Thursday that a court decision to award compensation to a US groundskeeper, who reportedly got cancer after using Monsanto's weedkiller, would be later revised.

On Monday, a US court ruled that Monsanto had to pay $289 million in compensation to the groundskeeper, Dewayne Johnson, saying that the man's cancer was caused by the company's Roundup weedkiller, which contained herbicide glyphosate.

"The jurys verdict is just the first step in this case, and it remains subject to post-trial motions in the trial court and to an appeal, as announced by Monsanto. As this case proceeds, Bayer believes courts ultimately will find that Monsanto and glyphosate were not responsible for Mr. Johnsons illness," the company said in a statement as quoted by its official website.

The company also said that the National Institutes of Health had earlier confirmed that the use of glyphosate was not fraught with danger of getting cancer, with the US Environmental Protection Agency and the European food Safety Authority also saying that the herbicide was safe to use.

"Bayer believes that the jurys decision is at odds with the weight of scientific evidence, decades of real world experience and the conclusions of regulators around the world that all confirm glyphosate is safe and does not cause non-Hodgkins lymphoma [blood cancer]," Bayer added.

The company also said that Bayer would now be able to actively participate in trials involving glyphosate.

In addition, Bayer said that it expected a positive effect from the purchase of Monsanto on the companys profits starting from 2019.

"Bayer expects that the acquisition will already make a positive contribution to core earnings per share starting in 2019, with a double-digit percentage from 2021 onward. From 2022, annual contributions of 1.2 billion U.S. Dollars to EBITDA [Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization] before special items are planned from synergies," the company said in a Thursday press release.

Bayer completed the process of $66-billion acquisition of Monsanto in June. Monsanto is the world's largest supplier of genetically modified seeds to increase crop yields, which also sells the most used pesticide worldwide glyphosate. Bayer is the world's second largest supplier of pesticides, with a stronger focus on Europe.