Merck closes Dutch facilities
Driven by a need to cut back after swallowing Schering-Plough while relying more on external development collaborations, Merck announced plans to shutter eight R&D centers around the globe, including facilities in Oss, the Netherlands.
In a press release the company said it would close research operations in Montreal, Canada; Boxmeer (Nobilon facility only), Oss, and Schaijk, Netherlands; Odense, Denmark; Waltrop, Germany; Newhouse, Scotland; and Cambridge (Kendall Square), MA. Merck's manufacturing division, meanwhile, will shrink from 91 facilities at the close of the merger to 77 facilities.
Merck said that its will retain its focus on seven key therapeutic franchise areas: Cardiovascular Disease; Diabetes and Obesity; Infectious Disease; Oncology; Neuroscience and Ophthalmology; Respiratory and Immunology; and Women's Health and Endocrine. Merck's women's health research, currently centered in Oss, the Netherlands, will be relocated primarily to the U.S.
Source: Merck
