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 "We have lost two cases in lower courts. That is why the company is
massively affected. You see it in our share price," CEO Werner
Baumann said in a panel discussion at an academic business event in
Cologne.
"You see it selectively, mainly here in Germany and in France - less
so in the USA - in our reputational scores," he added.
Bayer has seen about 30 billion euros ($34 billion) wiped off its
market value since August, when a U.S. jury found Bayer liable
because Monsanto, acquired by Bayer for $63 billion last year, had
not warned of weedkiller Roundup's alleged cancer risks.
It suffered a similar courtroom defeat last month and more than
10,000 cases are pending.
"There's lots of politicking, campaigning and propaganda that goes
entirely against the current regulatory status of our products. That
has prompted U.S. lawyers to sue for damages - a big industry in the
USA - following an outlier assessment of the potential risk by a
subordinate organization," Baumann added.
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the European Chemicals
Agency and other regulators across the globe have found that
glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is not likely
carcinogenic to humans.
However, the World Health Organization's cancer arm in 2015 reached
a different conclusion, classifying glyphosate as "probably
carcinogenic to humans".
Bayer is legally challenging the verdicts and has stressed that
regulators across the globe have found the product to be safe.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Michelle Martin)
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