He explains: “Syngenta are trying to influence researchers who are working on Paraquat and also influence the direction of the research because the last thing Syngenta wants is a big blow up on Parkinson’s. So the strategy was to downplay anything to do with the potential neurotoxicity of Paraquat that could lead to Parkinson’s.”
It said: “In our view, Jon Heylings is technically not qualified to comment on Paraquat and Parkinson’s Disease. He is certainly not aware of Syngenta’s research on the issue, which was mostly conducted from 2008 onwards, after he left the company. We spent tens of millions of dollars investigating Paraquat and Parkinson’s disease – and this figure doesn’t include the monetary value of internal expert time.”
In a statement, Syngenta said it had invested hundreds of millions of dollars over the product lifetime to ensure its safety.
“Paraquat has been the subject of more than 1,200 safety studies submitted to, and reviewed by, regulatory authorities around the world. Recent thorough reviews performed by the most advanced and science-based regulatory authorities including the United States and Australia continue to support the view that Paraquat is safe.”
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