Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. Inc. announced yesterday that part of its newest restructuring effort will be closing its South Lake Union-based basic research facility and cutting or transferring about 300 jobs [PSBJ]. Most of the research is currently being done at Rosetta Inpharmatics, a company that Merck acquired in 2001 that develops technologies for drug discovery. A lot of those scientists will be offered a transfer to Boston [PI].

Lots of biotech companies have been having layoffs and income drops, but the closing of a whole facility makes me wonder if the future of SLU as a biotech hot zone is going to turn out as bright as it was supposed to be. I work in SLU myself, and have been watching all of the construction of new buildings that boast lab space. It will be interesting to see how quickly those fill up now, in an economic climate that is not exactly supportive of science.