Merck Plans £1.3bn Hub in London
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US pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co have plans to build a £1.3 billion hub in London, opposite London’s King’s Cross Station. The company, known as MSD outside the US, aims to create the new centre close to the Francis Crick Institute, at the heart of the capital’s life sciences cluster.
Pharmaceutical Technology reports that MSD hopes to employ 800 staff on the 25,000 sq. metre site. If Camden Council grants planning permission, then construction could commence in late 2021, with staff moving in by 2025.
Current employees will relocate from MSD’s smaller premises in London and the firm’s offices in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire.
The company wants to create 120 new roles for scientists and researchers at the new hub, which is expected to be named the London Discovery Research Centre.
MSD originally announced plans for the centre back in 2017, which the government hailed as a boost for the economy leading up to Brexit.
The Financial Times reported that while the investment was never in doubt, MSD had trouble finding a suitable location in the area and a desire to be close to the life sciences centre and the Francis Crick Institute.
It will be the first non-US-based lab to perform early-stage research into new medicines, and scientists will be focussing on ageing-related diseases and neuroscience.
However, the plans have faced opposition from conservation groups, such as Save Bloomsbury, who described the planned building as a ‘monstrosity’ and one of the ‘ugliest and most inappropriate buildings proposed in recent times’.
Architect Allford Hall Monaghan Morris said it hoped the build would inspire young people in the area.
David Peacock, MSD managing director for UK and Ireland, said: “We currently view the UK as a world leader in developing science, driven by the long-term emphasis on building a strong research and development infrastructure.
“We look forward to being an active participant in the UK’s bioscience community.”
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