Bayer shares soar 11% after key U.S. legal win against Roundup cancer claims

Bayer shares jumped in morning trade as the German life sciences company said it scored a legal victory in its suit over claims that exposure to its popular Roundup weed killer led to cancer.

The stock was up 11% at 3 p.m. London time.

The company on Thursday announced that the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia found in its favor against plaintiff David Schaffner's claim alleging that Monsanto — which Bayer acquired in 2018 — violated state law by failing to add a cancer warning to the Roundup label.

Schaffner was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma — a type of cancer affecting the lymph system — in 2006. He and his wife, Theresa Sue, sued Monsanto in May 2019, partly citing a loss of consortium, which refers to the impact of his illness on their relationship.

Schaffner, a landscaper, claimed he was exposed to Roundup both professionally and as a private property owner.

Writing for a three-judge panel, Chief Judge Michael Chagares said that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act demands uniformity of state law labeling requirements, preventing the obligation to add a cancer warning to Roundup in Pennsylvania in this case.

Chip Becker, a lawyer for the Schaffners, expressed disappointment in the court decision and said that federal law should not preempt the failure-to-warn claim of his clients, who will review their legal options, according to Reuters.

Bayer has been mired in legal conflict over Roundup, with Reuters estimating that 165,000 charges were brought against the product in the U.S., of which roughly 54,000 reportedly remain as of August, following a $10.9 billion settlement in 2020.

On Thursday, Bayer noted that the Philadelphia ruling conflicts with decisions made by other federal