Merck Research Site

Earl of Effingham Excerpts

Thursday 11th September 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[The Earl of Effingham]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on jobs and growth of Merck’s decision to cancel plans for a £1 billion research site in London.

[The Minister of State, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Department for Energy and Net Zero (Lord Vallance of Balham) (Lab)]

My Lords, the decision by Merck, or MSD, not to progress its investment, with 126 jobs lost—I express my sympathy to those individuals—is part of a broader effort by MSD to optimise its resources. It announced in July that it would cut $3 billion per year by 2027 and that 6,000 jobs would go worldwide. MSD continues to employ over 1,600 staff in the UK across other operations, including more than 40 collaborative working agreements with the NHS, the Our Future Health project and UK clinical trials. We will continue to work with the sector to unlock growth.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Earl of Effingham (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his response, but the cancellation of the Merck research site is not only a major blow for our life sciences economy; it cuts across many other sectors that work with Merck—accounting, law, banking and other professional services. It is a blow for research scientists in training, as those future job opportunities have disappeared. How would the Minister respond to the feedback from one of the largest pharma companies in the world that the UK is

“not making meaningful progress towards addressing the lack of investment in the life science industry”?

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

The decrease in funding for the life sciences sector, in terms of NHS purchasing of medicines, started in 2015 and has continued since. It has not been a good position. We are reversing that now with the Life Sciences Sector Plan to make sure there is proper investment. Some £2 billion is going in as part of that plan, and £500 million has already gone in for a manufacturing investment fund and £600 million for a health data research service. The changes we are making will continue to make this a place where people want to invest, but I reiterate that the loss of those jobs and the Merck research centre as part of its global cuts is very disappointing.