The number of lawsuits in the United States regarding the potential carcinogenic effect of Bayer's weed killer glyphosate more than doubled in the third quarter of 2019, the German agrochemical giant announced on Wednesday.

Until mid-October, a total of around 42,700 lawsuits would have been served in the United States in connection with the herbicide glyphosate of U.S. biotech company Monsanto, according to Bayer.

Back in July, Bayer was only facing around 18,400 glyphosate lawsuits in the U.S.

Bayer is already facing high compensation payments in three cases in the United States for allegedly being responsible for the cancer diseases of patients.

Bayer was "constructively engaging" in a mediation process ordered by a federal judge in California, the company said.

Shares of Bayer increased by nearly 2 percent on Wednesday and were among the winners in Germany's benchmark stock index DAX.

In 2018, Bayer acquired Monsanto in the largest company takeover by a German company in history and paid around 63 billion euros for the U.S biotech company.

However, since Bayer bought Monsanto in 2018, shares of Bayer have lost around 50 percent and only recovered some of their losses after hitting a seven-year low in June.