Bayer shares drop 4.5% after jury verdict over $2.25 billion in damages

(Reuters) – Shares in Bayer opened 4.5% lower on Monday after the German company was ordered to pay $2.25 billion in damages, the highest amount yet in its ongoing litigation linked to an alleged carcinogenic effect of its Roundup weedkiller.

A jury in a Philadelphia court on Friday ordered Bayer to pay $2.25 billion to a Pennsylvania man who said he developed cancer from exposure to the company’s Roundup weedkiller.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Editing by Rachel More)