Up to 250 jobs will be axed as drugs giant shuts Scottish research base

HUNDREDS of Scottish jobs are set to go with the closure of a drugs discovery operation that has been hailed for developing treatments that could help sufferers of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

MSD, which is known as Merck in its native America, yesterday announced that it is shutting down eight manufacturing plants and eight research sites around the world including its plant in North Lanarkshire.

MSD, the world's second biggest drugs company, currently employs 250 people at Newhouse, a plant beside the M8.

Most are expected to lose their jobs by the end of this year as a result of a major restructuring following MSD's merger with its rival Schering-Plough last year.

MSD refused to say exactly how many Scottish jobs would be affected, but a spokesman for the Newhouse plant said: "If this proposal is implemented, we anticipate that a selected number of people may be offered a position in the coming weeks in other facilities of the global Merck research network. However, we anticipate that the majority of employees will be leaving the company."

Chris Hill, the Head of MSD's Newhouse facility, said: "This is obviously a difficult situation that will affect all Newhouse employees and we take the impact very seriously.

"I want to pay tribute to all my staff whose work has been outstanding over the years. This is not a reflection on the important contributions made by my colleagues here."

The job losses have been announced as part of MSD's "global consolidation programme" and part of the company's effort to "integrate and strengthen its operations across its organisation".

But in Lanarkshire, the news was met with shock. Karen Whitefield, the Labour MSP for Shotts and Airdrie, said: "This is a devastating blow to Newhouse and wider Lanarkshire and will come as a bolt out of the blue to the employees who have done world-class work in life sciences over the years."

Formerly the home of the contraceptive-maker Organon Biosciences, the Newhouse plant has been associated with drug research for decades. In recent years work to create the drug Bridion came from research in Newhouse.

Bridion was developed as a safer, faster alternative to older drugs used to reverse anesthesia - but was also touted as a "chemical cleaner" that could save the lives of thousands of people every year and has even been said to be a hangover cure.

Newhouse was also involved in research on compounds that they hoped would be used to treat diseases of the central nervous system such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Making yesterday's announcement, Merck & Co said it would be eliminating about 15 per cent of its global work force, or roughly 16,000 jobs.

The cuts are intended to save the Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, company about $3.5 billion (2.3bn) a year.

In addition to Newhouse, the company will close research operations in Montreal, Canada; Boxmeer, Oss, and Schaijk, Netherlands; Odense, Denmark; Waltrop, Germany; and Cambridge, Massachusetts over two years.

Last night a Scottish Government spokesman said: "This is potentially very disappointing news and this will be an anxious time for employees, their families and communities affected. Finance Secretary John Swinney has spoken to the company today and emphasised his willingness to meet with senior management at the earliest possible stage to explore alternatives which would protect employment in Scotland." z