FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — German pharmaceutical and chemical company Bayer said Thursday it would take a provision of $4.5 billion against second-quarter earnings to put the company on what it said would be a path to closure of thousands of lawsuits over weedkiller containing the chemical glyphosate in the US.
The company said would continue to pursue legal appeals at the U.S. Supreme Court and was hopeful of success. But it set aside the money to account for a second scenario in which it has to manage the costs of the remaining claims through a mix of litigation and settlement.
The company has faced thousands of legal actions claiming that glyphosate causes non-Hodgins lymphoma, a type of cancer. The company says glyphosate is safe.
