Plan for new UK discovery center announced by MSD
It has been announced by MSD (NJ, USA), known as Merck and Co. in the US and Canada, that they are committed to establishing a new state of the art life sciences discovery research facility. The laboratories, which will be based in London, UK, will focus on early bioscience discovery and entrepreneurial innovation.
It is anticipated that the new UK discovery center will create 150 new research roles. It is hoped the center will attract some of the best research scientists to work in London. In addition, the site will accommodate an additional 800 staff for the UK domestic market and other European clinical functions. The target date for operational readiness is 2020 and the company is currently evaluating potential locations in the London area. In the interim, MSD is actively recruiting for suitably qualified researchers to staff a small temporary research facility in the area.
MSD has made similar investments in new biomedical centers in Cambridge, MA, USA and the San Francisco Bay, CA, USA, in line with their ongoing commitment to innovative scientific discovery and collaboration. By locating this new research facility in London, it is hoped that MSD will be able to engage with leading researchers in the UK and Europe.
Dr Roger Perlmutter, president, MSD Research Laboratories, commented: “Strong discovery capabilities and the pursuit of scientific excellence are foundational to MSD’s mission to save and improve lives around the world. This new London location will enable us to build on our proud legacy of invention and be an important contributor to the vibrant and rapidly growing London life sciences community while providing access for more collaborations within the European life science ecosystem.”
Louise Houson, managing director, MSD in the UK and Ireland concluded: “We believe London to be a unique bioscience centre of excellence and a key component of the established golden triangle for academic science of London-Oxford-Cambridge. The investment presents a major opportunity for us to work in collaboration with the UK Government to build on the forward thinking and ambitious Industrial Strategy White Paper published by the Government today.”
Source: www.msd-uk.com/static/pdf/MSD%20press%20statement-Jewel%20announcement.pdf
