3M to sell pharma unit
3M, the US manufacturing conglomerate, will simplify its business holdings by selling off an outlier, its slower-growing pharmaceutical division. The deal involves splitting that division into three and selling it for a total of $2 billion.
3M is selling its American operations to US firm Graceway Pharmaceuticals in a $875m deal. Its European operations are being bought by Swedish company Meda for $857 million. 3Ms Asia-Pacific operations were bought by Australian equity firms for $349 million.
3M is holding on to its general health care business, of which the pharmaceutical business constituted around 20%. Other fields of note are dental products (such as for orthodontics), stethoscopes (brand name Littman), surgical equipment (such as wound dressings and antimicrobials), and high-end skin treatment.
The drugs 3M sells include Caldara skin cancer drug, Metro Gel vaginal gel, weight-loss drug Doorman, Midair inhaler and Taboo heart medicine. One analyst noted "It's an issue about the cost of developing new drugs," and 3M believes it hasn't the commitment to the industry to invest in new drug development.
No surprise here. Clearly, the pharmaceutical industry is no place there days fro a part-timer.
8:05:45 PM 
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