Billion dollar agreement: Bayer ends controversy over contraceptives

It was supposed to prevent pregnancies – but in thousands of cases it led to massive health problems. Even deaths are linked to the IUD sold by Bayer. Now the Dax group has reached an agreement with tens of thousands of plaintiffs.

Bayer has tied a billion-dollar agreement in the US dispute over the alleged health risks of the Essure contraceptive spiral. Agreements were made with plaintiff's law firms, with which about 90 percent of the total of almost 39,000 Essure lawsuits that have already been filed or some not yet filed in the USA are settled, the Dax Group announced. Bayer intends to raise a total of around 1.6 billion US dollars (1.35 billion euros), which also includes lump sums for claims for which no settlement agreements have yet been made. These plaintiffs are currently still being spoken to.

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An agreement was expected in view of the recently intensified discussions, which is why Bayer had already put money aside for it. The payment is covered by existing provisions. The Dax group had announced earlier this month that it would approach a settlement in the wave of lawsuits over Essure. Due to the provisions, special expenses of around 1.25 billion euros were incurred in the pharmaceutical business in the second quarter.

Bayer took over the controversial metal spiral business in 2013 with the purchase of the US manufacturer Conceptus. It was discontinued in the US in late 2018. The coil could be inserted into the fallopian tubes without surgery. However, many women complained of chronic pain, irregular bleeding, injuries to the uterus and fallopian tubes, and depression. Even deaths have been linked to the IUD.

The plaintiffs who join the settlement will withdraw or not file their lawsuits, Bayer said. The group also emphasized once again that the settlement agreements were not an admission of guilt.

Problems with Monsanto lawsuits

With the settlement, Bayer is clearing up another major legal construction site. As has been known since June, the Leverkusen-based company is taking 820 million dollars in hand to settle the major part of the US proceedings over the environmental toxin PCB, which has been banned in the US since 1979 and which the subsidiary Monsanto had previously produced. Added to this is a $ 400 million compromise over complaints about alleged crop damage caused by the weed killer Dicamba. In the latter case, Bayer also wants to bring its co-sued competitor BASF on board.

By far the most expensive dispute remains the one about alleged cancer risks of weed killers containing glyphosate. Here, however, the desired comparison with the majority of the plaintiffs is shaky. Because: The responsible federal judge Vince Chhabria was bothered by the part of the agreement that covers possible future cases. As a result, Bayer withdrew the application for consent to deal with these cases, which were scheduled to be settled $ 1.25 billion.

This basically does not change the agreement with the majority of the approximately 125,000 filed and un-filed lawsuits, for which up to 9.6 billion dollars are earmarked. However, Bayer boss Werner Baumann had repeatedly emphasized that a large-scale agreement would also have to resolve future legal disputes. The manager emphasized in the course of the publication of the half-year figures at the beginning of August that the approach remains to find a comprehensive solution. A new proposal would be discussed with representatives of future cases.

. (tagsToTranslate) economy (t) Bayer (t) Dax company (t) pharmaceutical industry