Eli Lilly's Elanco division is planning to pay more than $300 million for Monsanto's artificial dairy cow hormone, Posilac. Posilac increases milk production but faces mounting public concerns over its safety.
The genetically engineered protein is injected into dairy cows to prevent mammary cell death. Posilac opponents point to studies that show cows given Posilac have higher rates of udder infections and increased production of a substance, called bovine insulin-like growth factor 1, that has been linked to cancer.
Monsanto putt the product up for sale recently, after marketing it for 14 years.