MISSOURI: Bayer said its Monsanto unit has agreed to a proposed settlement valued at up to $7.25 billion to resolve thousands of U.S. lawsuits alleging that the Roundup weedkiller caused cancer. The proposed nationwide agreement was filed in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis and is intended to cover current claims and certain future claims tied to diagnoses made before the filing date. The deal requires court approval and claimant participation.
Under the proposal, Monsanto would make declining, capped annual payments for up to 21 years. Compensation would be determined through a tiered matrix that considers factors including the claimant’s age at diagnosis, the type of cancer, and the level and duration of exposure. Publicly described terms include potential payments reaching $198,000 or more for some claimants, with amounts varying by individual circumstances and documentation.
Bayer said it faces about 65,000 Roundup-related plaintiffs in U.S. courts, with many claims centered on non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The litigation stems from Monsanto, which Bayer acquired in 2018 in a $63 billion deal that brought Roundup under Bayer’s control. Bayer reiterated that it does not admit liability or wrongdoing and continues to dispute claims that glyphosate, Roundup’s active ingredient, causes cancer when used as directed.
The company said the proposed resolution will increase its overall litigation provisions and liabilities from €7.8 billion to €11.8 billion. Bayer also said litigation-related cash outflows are expected to total about €5 billion in 2026, which it said would result in negative free cash flow for the year. Bayer said it arranged an $8 billion bank loan facility to help cover near-term needs, and it set March 4 for its annual results update.
Settlement structure and prior litigation
Bayer previously announced a large Roundup settlement program in 2020 and has continued to defend and resolve cases since then. The company has also faced major jury verdicts, including a Georgia verdict of about $2.1 billion in 2025, which Bayer said it would appeal. Efforts to create a court-approved mechanism for future Roundup claims have drawn scrutiny in the past, including a federal court rejection in 2021 of an earlier proposed approach.
The Roundup disputes have unfolded alongside differing assessments by scientific and regulatory bodies. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said glyphosate is “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans” and has not required a cancer warning on glyphosate labels, a point Bayer has cited in defending its position in court.
Supreme Court review and next procedural steps
Separately from the proposed settlement, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Monsanto Company v. Durnell, a case involving whether the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act preempts a label-based failure-to-warn claim when the EPA has not required the warning at issue. The case is scheduled for argument on April 27, 2026, and originates from litigation brought by a Missouri plaintiff.
Bayer said the proposed class settlement must clear preliminary and final court approval steps and includes minimum participation requirements by eligible claimants. Bayer also said it has reached additional agreements with other plaintiff law firms to resolve certain other cases and referenced separate litigation involving PCBs. Until the court process is completed, Roundup claims outside the proposed class framework remain in litigation, and existing case schedules continue in state and federal courts. – By Content Syndication Services.