Yahoo Finance Bayer sees Roundup weed killer penalty reduced significantly
Bayer (BAYN.DE) was up as much as 2.2% on Tuesday a day after a federal district court judge denied the company’s motion for a new trial in the Roundup weed killer case.
The case against Roundup, a product of Monsanto—now a part of Bayer—will cost the pharmaceutical company $25.3 million in total damages. This is a reduction from $80 million, of which $75 million was ordered by the jury for punitive damages.
A federal district court judge in California released the decision on Monday, and said he reduced the punitive damage amount because even though the weed killer likely caused the plaintiff’s cancer, the repeated approval of its use by regulators globally leaves its classification as a carcinogen in question.
Separately, Bayer also announced Monday that the Food and Drug Administration approved a new use for a contrast agent for MRI machines.
The use of Gadavist, for MRI’s of adults suspected of having coronary artery disease—the leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Center for Disease Control—could boost the radiology portfolio for the company.
Gadavist already has three other approved uses, and has increased in revenue year over year.
In the third quarter of 2016, Gadavist brought in 26 million euros, or $29 million, and jumped to 30 million euros, or $33.7 million, in Q3 of 2017. It decreased slightly to 29 million euros ($32.6 million) in Q3 of 2018.
“The FDA approval is a landmark for making this validated, non-invasive method available to healthcare professionals to evaluate their patients for the most common form of heart disease in the world,” said Daniel Berman, chief of cardiac imaging and nuclear cardiology at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute.
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Anjalee Khemlani is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @AnjKhem
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