(Bloomberg) -- Bayer AG has earmarked 480 million euros ($522 million) to defend itself against allegations that its weed killer Roundup causes cancer.
That figure includes money set aside for the coming three years of expected spending on the matter, Chief Executive Officer Werner Baumann said at the company's annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday. Bayer has been reimbursed for 28 million euros from insurance on the Roundup front, he said in response to investor questions.
Bayer is in settlement talks with lawyers for more than 50,000 U.S. plaintiffs who have sued over the product. The coronavirus pandemic has slowed the negotiations, and Bayer will continue to push for a deal that is “financially reasonable” and resolves potential future claims efficiently no matter how long the negotiations take, the company said.
Bayer insists the product is safe. It inherited Roundup in its $63 billion takeover of Monsanto Co. in 2018. The German company has lost three trials in the U.S., dragging down its stock price by more than a third. It's appealing those verdicts.
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