Elanco Animal Health CEO Jeff Simmons speaks during an interview at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Sept. 20, 2018. (Photo: Reuters/Brendan McDermid)

Elanco to become No. 2 in animal health with Bayer deal

Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — Elanco Animal Health agreed to buy Bayer’s veterinary drugs unit on Tuesday in a cash and stock deal valued at US$7.6 billion (C$10 billion), creating the second largest maker of medicines for livestock and pets and expanding Elanco’s reach online. The deal is the latest in the fast-growing animal health market, which has […] Read more




The Bayer AG logo at the headquarters in France. Bayer AG has struck down its own plans to sell Nemastrike – a seed treatment designed to protect against nematodes – after reviewing experiences from farmers and applicators.  Photo: Reuters/Benoit Tessier/File

Bayer cancels plans to sell U.S. crop product in 2020 over safety concerns

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – Bayer AG has scrapped plans for wide sales next year of a chemical that is intended to protect U.S. crops from yield-robbing worms, citing ongoing safety concerns. The decision is the latest setback for Germany-based Bayer following its acquisition of Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018. Bayer is separately battling thousands of lawsuits claiming Monsanto’s glyphosate-based […] Read more


Monsanto Co’s Roundup for sale in Encinitas, California, June 26, 2017.  Photo: Reuters/Mike Blake/File

U.S. judge cuts $2 billion Roundup verdict against Bayer to $86 million

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters – A California judge on Thursday reduced a $2 billion jury verdict, slashing the award for a couple who blamed Bayer AG’s glyphosate-based weed killer, Roundup, for their cancer to $86.7 million. Superior Court Judge Winifred Smith of the California Superior Court in Oakland said the jury’s billion-dollar punitive damage awards were excessive and […] Read more

Edwin Hardeman, at right with his attorneys Jennifer Moore (left) and Aimee Wagstaff, speaks to the media, after Bayer was found liable for Hardeman’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma arising from his use of Roundup herbicide, at a federal courthouse in San Francisco on March 27, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Alexandria Sage)

Juror urges judge to uphold US$80M Roundup verdict

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — A juror who was part of a panel that delivered a US$80 million award against Bayer AG after finding that its glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup caused a man’s cancer has urged the presiding judge to uphold the decision. A letter from the juror written on July 4 was posted to the court docket […] Read more


Edwin Hardeman, at right with his attorneys Jennifer Moore (left) and Aimee Wagstaff, speaks to the media, after Bayer was found liable for Hardeman’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma arising from his use of Roundup herbicide, at a federal courthouse in San Francisco on March 27, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Alexandria Sage)

Judge to slash US$80 million Roundup jury verdict

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — A U.S. judge on Tuesday said he would reduce a US$80 million damage award against Bayer to US$50 million or less in the case of a man who blamed his cancer on glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco said the jury’s $75 million punitive damages award to plaintiff […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Bayer seeks glyphosate litigation advice as Elliott reveals stake

Reading Time: 2 minutes Frankfurt | Reuters — Chemicals giant Bayer , under pressure from activist shareholders, said on Wednesday it has hired an external lawyer to advise its supervisory board and has set up a committee to help resolve a multi-billion dollar glyphosate litigation issue. Bayer has seen its share price tumble in the wake of its US$63 […] Read more


Bayer’s cross symbol hangs in a terminal at Frankfurt International Airport. (Typhoonski/iStock Editorial/Getty Images)

Bayer to invest $7.5 billion in new herbicides

Reading Time: < 1 minute Berlin | Reuters — Bayer said it would invest five billion euros (C$7.5 billion) in developing new weedkillers and reducing its environmental impact by 30 per cent by 2030, as it seeks to address the fallout from U.S. class-action litigation over glyphosate. “While glyphosate will continue to play an important role in agriculture and in […] Read more

(Jack Dykinga photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

USDA investigates unapproved GMO wheat in Washington state

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed the discovery of unapproved, genetically modified (GM) wheat plants growing in an un-planted agricultural field in Washington state. There was no evidence the wheat had entered the food supply, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said in a statement on Friday. The wheat […] Read more