Merck, a leading science and technology company, invests € 35 million in biosafety testing at its Glasgow and Stirling sites.. Biosafety testing is a critical step in the drug development and manufacturing process that ensures drugs are safe, efficacious, and meet regulatory requirements. The expansion will create nearly 500 new jobs, bringing Merck’s workforce to over 1,200 employees across the two sites.
“We remain committed to ensuring the safety of the world’s medicines through our state-of-the-art testing solutions for our customers around the world that drive new treatments,” said Dirk Lange, Head of Life Science Services, Merck Life Science. “Since mid-2022, we have invested more than € 350 million in our global testing network to meet the growing demand for these services.”
The centerpiece of the investment is a new, 1,200-square-meter facility in Glasgow, which will house molecular biology and sequencing services. The company will expand testing capacity in its current buildings with biosafety testing, analytical development, and viral clearance suites. The latest investment follows the company’s recent Rockville, Maryland, USA, and Shanghai, China testing expansions.
“Merck has a wealth of testing expertise spanning over 75 years, including 33 years here in Scotland,” said David McClelland, Site Head and Managing Director for the Scottish sites. “The biosafety testing services at our sites in Glasgow and Stirling have been experiencing strong, double-digit growth for several years. This investment is a significant announcement for Merck in Scotland and an acknowledgment of the great work of our on-site teams.”
CEO of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, Stuart Patrick, said, “This announcement is very good news for Glasgow and the surrounding region. The success of the Merck team in building such a powerful presence in biosafety testing reinforces the growing importance of Glasgow as a hub for science and innovation built on an excellent pipeline of talented new staff. The health and life sciences industry will play a central role in shaping opportunities for a high quality career in the city region and Merck is showing how it is done.”
CEO of the Scottish Life Sciences Association, Stuart Armstrong, added, “This is great news for Scottish Life Sciences and Scotland as a whole. We are delighted to continue to support Merck as they expand again in Glasgow and Stirling. We will work alongside Merck to ensure they have all the resources they need to deliver a successful project. Making sure we have the skilled people to fill these jobs is a priority for us and it is excellent to be working with Glasgow Caledonian University, Stirling University and Forth Valley College, amongst others, to ensure we have students graduating with more than just an appreciation of the world class regulatory environment they’ll be working in.”
With its BioReliance® testing services portfolio, Merck performs more than 20,000 studies in the UK annually for more than 500 clients globally.
BioReliance® Contract Testing Services and the recently formed Millipore® CTDMO Services are part of the Life Science Services business unit, which together with the Process Solutions business is one of Merck’s “Big 3” growth drivers. These “Big 3” are expected to generate approximately 80% of targeted sales growth and more than 50% of total sales for Merck in 2025. Merck aims to increase its Group sales to approximately €25 billion by 2025.