3M Supports Efforts to Curb Pandemic Profiteers

Summary

Document 9-4, filed May 6, 2020 as Exhibit 4 in Case 8:20-cv-01003-MSS-CPT, is a copy of a 3M news release titled 3M Supports Efforts to Curb Pandemic Profiteers, dated March 24, 2020. The release reproduces a letter from 3M's chairman and chief executive officer to Attorney General William Barr, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Montana Attorney General Tim Fox about counterfeiting and price gouging of personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter states that 3M has doubled its output of N95 respirators, manufactures more than 400 million N95 respirators annually in the U.S., and has not increased the prices it charges for respirators as a result of the crisis. It offers 3M's assistance to officials seeking to hold counterfeiters and price-gougers accountable. The exhibit is three pages.

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Case 8:20-cv-01003-MSS-CPT   Document 9-4   Filed 05/06/20   Page 1 of 3 PageID 238




          EXHIBIT 4
   Case 8:20-cv-01003-MSS-CPT                      Document 9-4             Filed 05/06/20          Page 2 of 3 PageID 239


Published on 3M News | Unit ed St at es (ht t ps://news.3m.com) on 3/24/20 3:29 pm CDT



3M Supports Efforts to Curb Pandemic Profiteers
Release Date:
Tuesday, March 24, 2020 3:29 pm CDT

T erms:
 Company (English)

Dateline City:
ST. PAUL, Minn.

ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, 3M Chairman and Chief Execut ive Officer Mike Roman delivered t he following let t er
t o William Barr, at t orney general of t he Unit ed St at es; Larry Hogan, governor of Maryland and chair of t he Nat ional Governors
Associat ion; and Tim Fox, at t orney general of Mont ana and president of t he Nat ional Associat ion of At t orneys General,
highlight ing 3M's act ions t o curb count erfeit ing and price gouging of personal prot ect ive equipment during t he COVID-19
pandemic. The let t er also urges federal and st at e government s and law enforcement officials t o cont inue t o lead t he fight ,
wit h 3M’s support and assist ance, against t hose who are exploit ing t he crisis by market ing count erfeit product s or gouging
t he public.
...

Dear At t orney General Barr, Governor Hogan, and At t orney General Fox:

On behalf of 3M and our 96,000 employees worldwide, I would like t o offer our support as you prot ect t he public from
count erfeit ing and price-gouging wit h respect t o crit ical medical devices, including t he respirat ors and masks t hat are crit ical
t o our count ry’s medical personnel.

This pandemic is affect ing us all. 3M is doing all t hat it can t o support public healt h and t hose impact ed by t his global healt h
crisis. We are mobilizing all available resources and rapidly increasing out put of crit ical supplies healt hcare workers in t he
Unit ed St at es and around t he world need t o help prot ect t heir lives as t hey t reat ot hers.

Since t he COVID-19 out break, 3M has doubled it s out put of N95 respirat ors. We are running our manufact uring lines around
t he clock seven days a week, hiring workers, adding shift s, and act ivat ing more product ion lines. In addit ion, 3M is increasing
it s invest ment t o expand it s global capacit y for manufact uring t hese respirat ors by more t han 30 percent in t he next 12
mont hs. Here in t he U.S., 3M current ly manufact ures more t han 400 million N95 respirat ors annually. This product ion capacit y,
as well as our increased product ion of hand sanit izers and disinfect ant s, is crit ical t o support ing healt hcare workers and first
responders. We are also in t he process of working wit h logist ics providers and large e-market place operat ors on a
coordinat ed st rat egy and act ion plan t o ensure product s rapidly get t o where t hey are needed most .

3M has no t increased the prices it charges fo r respirato rs as a result o f this glo bal crisis. 3M will no t
increase its current pricing fo r respirato rs being used to help address the pandemic.

We assume you have seen t he many report s of fraudulent act ivit y and price gouging involving medical devices, including our
N95 respirat ors. We are current ly providing assist ance direct ly t o t he public t o help curb t his act ivit y:

ht t ps://mult imedia.3m.com/mws/media/1803670O/fraudulent -act ivit y-and-count erfeit -product s.pdf.

We are also in t he process of working wit h large e-market place operat ors on a coordinat ed st rat egy and act ion plan t o
ident ify and remove count erfeit ers and price-gougers and t o refer t hem t o t he appropriat e law enforcement aut horit ies. In
addit ion, we would welcome t he opport unit y t o provide assist ance t o you as you seek t o ident ify and hold individuals and
organizat ions account able for making count erfeit respirat ors or inflat ing prices.

We will cont inue t o do all we can t o support healt hcare workers and t hose on t he front lines combat t ing t he COVID-19
out break. We st and ready t o work wit h federal and st at e government s t o end unet hical act ions t hat exploit t his global
pandemic and t hreat en t hose working so hard t o prot ect public healt h and safet y.

Respect fully,

Mike Roman

3M Chairman of t he Board and Chief Execut ive Officer


Abo ut 3M

At 3M, we apply science in collaborat ive ways t o improve lives daily. Wit h $32 billion in sales, our 96,000 employees connect
wit h cust omers all around t he world. Learn more about 3M’s creat ive solut ions t o t he world’s problems at www.3M.com or on
Twit t er @3M or @3MNews.



Language:
English
   Case 8:20-cv-01003-MSS-CPT                 Document 9-4          Filed 05/06/20        Page 3 of 3 PageID 240
Contact:
Jennifer Ehrlich
(651) 736-9430

T icker Slug:
Ticker: MMM
Exchange: NYSE


Source URL: https://news.3m.com/press-release/company-english/3m-supports-efforts-curb-pandemic-profiteers


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