German science and technology firm, Merck, has announced an investment of £30 million in its Glasgow and Stirling-based biosafety testing sites.

This major investment and facility expansion will create nearly 500 new jobs, bringing Merck’s workforce to over 1,200 employees across the two sites.

Dirk Lange, Head of Life Science Services, Merck Life Science, said: "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.

"Since mid-2022, we have announced investments of more than € 350 million in our global testing network to meet the growing demand for these services."

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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."

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. The company aims to increase its Group sales to approximately € 25 billion by 2025. Around 80% of the planned sales growth is to come from the 'Big 3' businesses.