Exhibit 99

                            [SOLUTIA Letterhead]


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                Contacts:  Media - Glenn Ruskin - 703-282-7429
                                      Financial - Marleen Judge - 314-674-7777

      SOLUTIA REJECTS PHARMACIA SETTLEMENT COSTS OF TWO ASBESTOS CASES

         ST. LOUIS, Dec. 2, 2003/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Solutia Inc.
(NYSE: SOI) today notified Monsanto and Pharmacia that it would not be
making a $3 million payment to satisfy litigation settlements in two
asbestos cases brought against Pharmacia. Solutia's only obligation related
to this litigation comes as a result of its contractual obligation to
indemnify legacy liabilities of the old Monsanto chemical business which
were assigned to Solutia at the time of Solutia's creation in 1997. Solutia
has given notice to Monsanto and Pharmacia to enable them to make the
required payments on their own behalf.
         When Solutia was spun off from Monsanto in 1997, Monsanto
contractually obligated Solutia to bear the responsibility for hundreds of
millions of dollars of legacy liabilities that accrued to Monsanto and its
successor, Pharmacia, over a century of manufacturing, primarily in the
areas of retiree benefits, environmental cleanup and litigation defense
costs. In its 2003 third quarter 10-Q filing, Solutia disclosed that it must
take action to reduce its current level of legacy liabilities, which
currently cost Solutia approximately $100 million annually.
         Solutia has not advised Monsanto and Pharmacia that it will not
honor any remaining legacy liabilities. In fact, Solutia continues to make
other selected legacy liability payments. As individual legacy liability
payments come due, Solutia will evaluate whether it is prudent for it to
make those payments and will, in all cases where it determines to not make
such payments, notify Monsanto and Pharmacia to enable them to pay their
obligations.


CORPORATE PROFILE
         Solutia (http://www.Solutia.com) uses world-class skills in applied
chemistry to create value-added solutions for customers, whose products
improve the lives of consumers every day. Solutia is a world leader in
performance films for laminated safety glass and after-market applications;
process development and scale-up services for pharmaceutical fine chemicals;
specialties such as water treatment chemicals, heat transfer fluids and
aviation hydraulic fluid and an integrated family of nylon products
including high-performance polymers and fibers.

         Solutia ...Solutions For a Better Life.


                                    -oOo-

Source: Solutia Inc.

St. Louis
Date 12/2/03