3M Sells Branded Drug Arm for $2.1 Billion

St. Paul, MN (Nov. 9)-3M Co. (www.3m.com) will carve up and sell its global branded pharmaceuticals businesses for a total of $2.1 billion, the company announced this morning. Graceway Pharmaceuticals (Bristol, TN) will pay $875 million for operations in the US, Canada, and South America. Meda AB (Solna, Sweden, www.meda.se) will buy 3M’s European drug subsidiaries for $857 million (subject to third-party notice and approval), and Ironbridge Capital (Sydney, NSW, Australia, www.ironbridge.com.au) and Archer Capital (Dawes Point, NSW, Australia, www.archercapital.com.au), two private equity firms specializing in the Australasian region, have partnered to pay $349 million for 3M’s Asia-Pacific pharmaceutical properties.

The agreements cover regional marketing and intellectual property rights for 3M’s current drug portfolio, which includes Difflam, Duromine, Tambocor, Maxair, Metrogel-Vaginal, and Minitran, the company said in a prepared statement.

3M will retain its Drug Delivery Systems Division, which will supply products to the spin-off companies.

3M’s Pharmaceuticals Division employs about 1,050 people worldwide; about 70 percent of those are expected to find places in the new companies.

The sales resulted from a review, announced in April, of 3M’s branded pharmaceuticals business and its immune response modifier platform.