Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough and member of the Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee, has condemned the Government after U.S. pharmaceutical giant Merck scrapped a £1 billion UK expansion.
Merck’s decision to shift research to the US will cost British jobs and is the latest blow to the UK’s life sciences sector – following AstraZeneca walking away from a £450 million vaccine facility earlier this year.
Tom, who began his career in scientific recruitment in the run-up to Brexit, warned that the sector has been struggling ever since and accused successive governments of neglecting one of Britain’s most important industries.
Tom said:
This is a devastating wake-up call. The UK is losing its place as a global life sciences hub while the Government dithers.
Merck and AstraZeneca aren’t leaving by chance – they’re leaving because there is no long-term industrial strategy, an uncompetitive tax regime, and a Department of Health that undervalues new medicines.
Meanwhile, the US is doubling down on investment and backing innovation. Britain should be doing the same.
Tom is calling for a bold, cross-party life sciences strategy to restore confidence, attract investment, and keep the UK at the forefront of global innovation.
