US drug maker Merck Scraps £ 1 billion London Research Center and cuts 125 science jobs | Pharmaceutical industry

The American drugstore Merck has demolished a research center of £ 1 billion London and this year 125 scientists in the capital, in a big blow to the important sector of the UK.

The government of Keir Starmer has described the life sciences as “one of the crown jewels of the British economy” and the previous conservative government sworn to turn the country into a ‘global super power of science and technology’ by 2030.

The planned new lab, called the UK Discovery Center, on the Belgrove House site opposite St. Pancras and King’s Cross StationsWas already under construction and planned to open in two years. It was expected that around 800 people were employed, including 180 scientists.

As part of his U-turn, Merck, known as MSD in Europe, will leave laboratories in the nearby London Bioscience Innovation Center, which by the end of 2025 organizes more than 60 Life Science Companions, and the neighboring Francis Crick Institute, with the loss of approximately 125 scientific jobs.

The company established in New Jersey said it would move the research operations to other sites. It is unclear where it would be in the world, but pharmaceutical companies are under pressure from Donald Trump to invest more in the US. The company refused further details in provider.

In a statement, MSD announced “plans to terminate research operations in the UK and that it is no longer planning to occupy the Belgrove House site in King’s Cross”.

“This … reflects the challenges of the UK and does not make meaningful progress to tackle the lack of investments in the life science industry and the overall undervaluation of innovative medicines and vaccines by successive British governments,” said it.

MSD had previously said that the research center would build on the 100-year heritage of the company in the UK, close to the Knowledge Quarter of London and Moorgate’s head office. It will retain its head office and a large health site of animals in Milton Keynes.

Long negotiations between the government and the industry about the costs of medicines for the UK were demolished last month. According to the voluntary price and access schedule, companies come in to repay a certain number of income that they earn from newer, brand medicines. In 2023 the discount percentage increased to 23.5%, which is compared to 5.7% in France and 7% in Germany.

Richard Torbett, Chief Executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), said: “This is a real blow to the ambitions of the Life Sciences in the UK. No one wants to hear that successful and innovative companies such as MSD reduce their investment and footprint in the UK.”

Referring to a recent study from Deloitte, and the British trade agreement with the US, said a government spokesperson: “The VK has become the most attractive place to invest in the world, but we know that there is more work to do. Through our sector plan of the life sciences, we take decisive action to unlock innovation, investments and BOOST.”

The news showed a report that the UK had lost site to rivals in the worldwide race for pharmaceutical investments and research.

Investment in Life Sciences Research and Development (R&D) in the UK has been suppressing worldwide trends since 2018 the study from the ABPI and the PWC consultancy.

It said that a significant delay began in 2020, when the growth rate in R&D investment fell to 1.9%annually, a decrease of 6.3%in the three previous years and lagged behind the global average of 6.6%. R&D investment by the pharmaceutical industry even fell by almost £ 100 million in 2023, the last year of the study.

For £ 795 million, the investments by foreign life sciences in the UK was 58% lower in 2023 than in 2017, when it was £ 1.9 billion. This meant that the country fell in second place from second place in 2017 and 2021 to seventh place in 2023.

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The UK has also lagged behind Clinical tests of new medicines. It is in eighth place for late-phase industrial tests in 2023, against the fourth in 2017, although there were “small signs of improvement” in 2023, according to the report.

Rippon Ubhi, who runs Sanofi’s UK and Ireland Business and the Specialty Care Division of the French company, said: “The findings in this report outline a photo in question for British patients and our economy.

“The UK is increasingly considered to be ‘non -investable’ in global executive rooms for unprecedented [NHS] Clawback rates And limiting access to the patient to medicines. While other countries actively invest in innovative medicines for patients, the UK is lagging behind. “

The British head of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, Johan Kahlström, has also said that high costs means The UK is ‘largely uninvestable’,While the health secretary, Wes Streeting, has promised that he does not allow companies to “drop off” taxpayers.

The government has set the UK to position the UK as the leading economy of life sciences in Europe by 2030 and third in 2035 worldwide, while the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said forefront of developments in the sector.

Torbett said: “The VK has a world -class science base and the potential to lead worldwide when developing the next generation of medicines and vaccines. But without a more competitive environment for investments, we run the risk of losing other countries that make daring movements to attract international mobile investments.”

Only 37% of the new medicines are made fully available for their recognized indications in the UK, compared to 90% in Germany. ABPI data shows that more than 60 medicines were not launched in the UK or were delayed between 2019-20-20-201- and 2022-23.