3M Responds to Accusations Regarding BacLite

3M MMM responded today to public accusations concerning its efforts to market BacLite, a product it acquired from Acolyte Biomedica Limited in 2007. According to 3M, the technology, originally developed to help detect the harmful bacteria Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, was not commercially viable and, therefore, the company discontinued efforts to sell it in 2008. The Porton Group, a London equity firm that invested in BacLite, has repeated allegations that it is entitled to millions of dollars in earn-out payments – based on its claim that 3M should have continued to sell the failed technology. 3M maintains that it discontinued marketing BacLite because, after diligent efforts and spending substantial resources, the company believed the product did not meet performance and customer expectations.