The Bayer Group’s weed killer glyphosate has been criticized for being harmful to health for years – and there are many lawsuits, especially in the USA. The company is now working on an alternative.
The controversial weed killer glyphosate has become a long-term and, above all, expensive problem for the pharmaceutical company Bayer, especially in the USA. US courts still have tens of thousands of cases before them regarding the drug, which has been criticized as carcinogenic.
Bayer says it is now working on an alternative to glyphosate, but at the same time emphasizes the safety of the currently available agent. CEO Bill Anderson told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung” that a new substance was already being tested on real plants. He didn’t give the product a name yet, but emphasized that it was the first groundbreaking innovation in this field in 30 years.
But it will still be a while before the alternative comes onto the market. Bayer is aiming for market launch in 2028.
“New approaches” for Litigation
With regard to the legal proceedings in the USA, Anderson stated that Bayer is pursuing “new approaches” to be able to resolve the legal disputes “inside and outside the courtrooms”.
According to the dpa news agency, there were still around 54,000 open court cases involving glyphosate in the USA at the end of January – another 2,000 more than last October. The provisions set up for this at Bayer amounted to the equivalent of 5.7 billion euros at the end of 2023.
In the past, courts in the USA had ruled differently on lawsuits: in some cases Bayer was able to achieve an acquittal, in others the company was obliged to pay damages – sometimes amounting to billions.
Most recently, at the end of January, a court in Philadelphia ruled in favor of a plaintiff and awarded him $2.25 billion in damages. Bayer announced an appeal.
Not officially as hazardous to health accepted
The weed killer glyphosate was developed by the US company Monsanto, which Bayer took over in 2018 – and with it the legal disputes surrounding the agent sold in the US under the name “Roundup”.
Critics have rated glyphosate as potentially carcinogenic for years. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) also classified the weed killer as “probably carcinogenic” in 2015.
Bayer had always rejected the allegations. CEO Anderson also emphasized again in the newspaper interview: “Glyphosate is safe.”
The European food authority EFSA also announced last year that there were “no critical problem areas” for people and the environment. In November, the EU Commission announced that the use of glyphosate should be approved for another ten years, but with restrictions.
In Germany, glyphosate can only be used under certain circumstances, for example on areas at risk of erosion or on fields with particularly stubborn weeds. It is generally prohibited in water protection areas.