MSD to Leave the London's Francis Crick Institute' Skylab as part of UK R&D Wind Down

MSD (Merck & Co., Inc.) will vacate its laboratories at the Francis Crick Institute in London by end‑2025 as it winds down discovery research in the UK. The move follows the decision to scrap a planned £1bn Discovery Centre at Belgrove House, with about 125 London R&D roles affected and work consolidating in the United States. MSD cited a challenging UK market and policies that under‑value innovative medicines. The company says it will continue UK clinical development and business operations.

The Francis Crick Institute and MSD only opened the ‘Skylab’ collaboration space on the institute’s roof in 2024 to expand early‑stage research programmes, underscoring the scale of the reversal.