MSD unveils plans for $1.3bn central London research centre

MSD has lifted the lid on plans to build a $1.3 billion research centre in central London.

The London Discovery Research Centre, as the site is to be named, has a tentative opening date of 2025 and will be based opposite King’s Cross station.

Construction is due to commence in late 2021, contingent on a successful sign-off from the London borough of Camden. In order to free up the proposed 25,000-square-metre space, the existing group of buildings at the site will first need to be demolished.

The facility will reportedly focus on early-stage research, predominantly for age-related conditions, generating 120 research and technician roles and 800 positions in total.

MSD first announced the project in 2017 but has suffered delays due to difficulties around finalising a site in the UK capital for the centre to be based. Due to a five-year neuroscience partnership that MSD has struck with the Francis Crick Institute, the company had been aiming to base its new facility at the nearby life sciences hub in North London.

Matt Fellows