Overview

• Merck, known as MSD in Europe, will not take possession of the Belgrove House site at King’s Cross and will leave nearby labs, including at the Francis Crick Institute, by the end of 2025.
• About 125 scientific roles will be cut as the company discontinues UK discovery research and shifts the planned work to other sites, with reporting that most activity will move to the United States.
• Merck said the UK is “not internationally competitive,” citing an undervaluation of innovative medicines and a lack of progress on life‑sciences investment under successive governments.
• The UK government called the news concerning and defended its investment record, while ministers also noted Merck’s wider $3bn global cost‑cutting plan and recent job reductions.
• The decision lands after NHS drug‑pricing talks collapsed and as ABPI/PwC data show life‑sciences FDI fell about 58% between 2017 and 2023, prompting MPs to schedule urgent scrutiny next week.