Friday, August 21, 2020

Bayer agrees to pay $1.6B to settle U.S. birth control suits

Bayer said Thursday it has agreed to pay $1.6 billion to settle about 90% of the 39,000 legal claims in the U.S. over injuries women said were related to their use of the German pharmaceuticals company's Essure birth control device.

The settlements include all of the jurisdictions with significant volumes of Essure cases, including the state of California Joint Council Coordinated Proceedings and Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. It also includes an allowance for outstanding claims.

"With the settlements, Bayer resolves virtually all of the U.S. Essure litigation so that the company can focus on its commitment to women’s health, where it has long been a leader, without the distractions and uncertainties associated with this litigation," the company said in announcing the settlement. “There is no admission of wrongdoing or liability by Bayer in the settlement agreements."

Bayer said in 2018 that it would end sales of the birth control product in the U.S., citing declining sales of the implantable device and not based on safety concerns.

The U.S. settlements have no impact on pending litigation in other countries.

The agreement follows a $10.9 billion settlement in June of U.S. lawsuits claiming the company’s weedkiller Roundup caused cancer.

Bayer bought St. Louis-based Monsanto Co., the maker of Roundup, for $63 billion in 2018.

Earlier this month, Bayer reported a net loss of $11.23 billion in the second quarter due to charges for Roundup and other legal settlements. The charges result mainly from the $10.9 billion Roundup settlement, but also settlements on dicamba, another weed killer, and on waste water contaminated with PCB.  Source

 https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/bayer-agrees-to-pay-us-1-6b-to-settle-u-s-essure-suits-1.1482788

 https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/bayer-to-pay-1-6-billion-to-settle-90-essure-injury-claims

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