NEW YORK CITY, New York: Bayer's Monsanto unit will ask a Missouri state court on September 14 to approve a US$7.25 billion settlement intended to resolve tens of thousands of U.S. lawsuits alleging that Roundup weedkiller causes cancer.

Judge Timothy Boyer will consider the proposed settlement in St. Louis and hear objections from some plaintiffs' lawyers who argue their clients should not be forced into Bayer's framework. Other lawyers support the agreement, saying it offers their clients a way to receive compensation for injuries attributed to Roundup.

Boyer is not expected to issue an immediate ruling at the hearing.

Bayer faces approximately 65,000 claims in U.S. state and federal courts from people who say they developed cancer after using Roundup at home or at work. The settlement, announced in February, seeks to resolve nearly all current and future U.S. Roundup claims.

The litigation has weighed on Bayer since its $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto in 2018, costing the company billions of dollars and affecting its share price. Investors have closely followed Chief Executive Bill Anderson's efforts to resolve the cases as part of his broader turnaround efforts.

An earlier settlement in 2020 worth about $10 billion resolved many existing Roundup lawsuits but left Bayer exposed to future claims.

Bayer has denied the allegations and maintains that decades of studies show glyphosate, Roundup's key ingredient, is safe and does not cause cancer.

Under the proposed settlement, people exposed to Roundup who developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma could receive between $10,000 and $165,000. Awards would depend on factors including the severity of the cancer, the person's age when diagnosed, and whether exposure occurred at home or at work.

Supporters say the settlement would ensure compensation for people with cancer as Roundup litigation faces greater uncertainty following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Monsanto's favor.

Opponents argue that the proposed payouts are too low and say the agreement could bind current and future claimants who would rather pursue their cases in court.

"Monsanto continues to believe the class settlement, which is supported by plaintiffs' counsel representing tens of thousands of potential class members, is fair to all parties and warrants final approval," a company spokesman said.

The Roundup litigation accelerated after the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as a probable carcinogen in 2015.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reached a different conclusion in 2017, finding glyphosate was not likely to cause cancer in humans under expected real-world exposures. The EPA does not require a cancer warning on Roundup's label and is working on an updated human health risk assessment for glyphosate expected to be completed in late 2026.

While the settlement was pending, Bayer won a Supreme Court ruling concerning the adequacy of Roundup's warning label, weakening one of the central legal claims in the litigation.