Letter to Jim Murphy, Shadow secretary of State for Scotland, from concerned Newhouse employee regarding the proposed site closure.

1. Dear Jim,
I am writing to you in your capacity as Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland to urge
you to lend your support to the campaign to save the MSD research site at Newhouse.
It was announced on 9th July that following their recent takeover of Schering-Plough,
Merck propose to close this productive site by the end of the year with the direct loss
of approx 250 jobs, and I would imagine a considerable number of dependent jobs in
both the local and wider Scottish community
(http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2010/07/09/new-jobs-blow-as-
pharmaceutical-giant-merck-closes-newhouse-factory-86908-22398433/).
I am not sure if you are familiar with this site but it has been present at Newhouse in
the guise of Organon since 1948 and is an integral part of the community in the
surrounding area. During this time the scientists at this research site have been
responsible for discovering, and bringing to market, a number of new drugs and are at
the absolute forefront of drug discovery research in Scotland. It is fair to say we have
always ‘punched above our weight’ and are recognised as a centre of excellence.
Schering Plough acquired Organon in 2007 and made lot of positive noises about
investment in the site however were quick to sell on to Merck only 2 years later and
effectively seal the fate of commercial drug discovery in Scotland. The site employs
talented, motivated, innovative and in some cases inspirational scientists who are
likely to struggle to find positions in the Scottish economy particularly with the
current rising unemployment figures. This can only contribute to a significant ‘brain
drain’ and loss of valuable talent from the country. In addition, the presence of a
multi-national drug company in Scotland presented an incredible opportunity for
locally trained graduate, post-graduate and post-doctoral scientists in life sciences and
chemistry to stay in Scotland and make a significant contribution to the Scottish
science community. John Swinney has met with senior management at Newhouse
(http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2010/07/15085327 ). The local MSP
(Karen Whitefield) and MP (Pamela Nash) have also lent their support to efforts to
retain this site and secure the jobs of affected employees.
It is vitally important that we raise the profile of this fight to save jobs and I would
hope that you could lend your support and apply pressure to both the Scottish
executive and within Westminster to avoid another devastating blow to Scottish
science and drug discovery in the UK as a whole.
Any assistance you could provide in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Kind regards,