Bayer Works on New Herbicide as Glyphosate Stays Under Fire (1)

Bayer AG said it’s developing a new weed-killing chemical as it looks to expand beyond glyphosate, the herbicide that has saddled the German company with thousands of lawsuits.

The molecule is the first developed for broad-acre crops in 30 years, according to Bayer. It takes a different route than glyphosate to disrupting a plant’s metabolism to check weed growth.

Bayer faces lawsuits from as many as 85,000 plaintiffs who say glyphosate causes cancer, which the company denies. The herbicide is the active ingredient in Roundup, which Bayer inherited through its $66 billion purchase of Monsanto.

As Bayer appeals cases it ...