GSK is poised to slash its back-office headcount as part of a sweeping £1.9bn cost-cutting programme designed to fund a £400m investment in UK life sciences, including a new research and development centre in Cambridge that will house more than 1,000 scientists. The move, announced on Tuesday by new chief executive Luke Miels in his first major update, aims to accelerate drug development and stave off a looming patent cliff-edge.
Under the plan, GSK will close its R&D site in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, by 2029, while upgrading its laboratories at nearby Ware and relocating some employees there. The company’s new 300,000 sq ft Cambridge site, being developed by warehouse builder Prologis, sits on one of the largest biomedical campuses in Europe, where more than 22,000 people work in life sciences and more than a million patients are treated each year.
“GSK to cut jobs in £1.9bn cost drive to fund £400m Cambridge R&D hub and accelerate drug development.”
“This investment will accelerate our R&D and help us deliver new, competitive products,” Miels said. “It integrates GSK further into one of the world’s leading centres of knowledge and demonstrates the attractiveness of the UK’s life sciences ecosystem.”
The Cambridge site, part of the so-called “golden triangle” of Cambridge, Oxford and London, will feature state-of-the-art, tech-enabled laboratories focused on oncology, respiratory, hepatology, vaccines and HIV. Miels said GSK’s teams would gain access to a “world-class ecosystem of biomedical research, patient care and academia”.
The announcement was welcomed by Andy Burnham, who called it a “vote of confidence in British business”, and by the prime minister, who described it as “a boost for homegrown innovation and expertise” and “a step towards more people getting access to new medicines and cutting-edge treatments that will change lives for the better”.
GSK’s investment comes just months after rival AstraZeneca, Britain’s biggest drugmaker, made a surprise U-turn and announced a £300m investment in the UK, including a £200m expansion in Cambridge. AstraZeneca had previously paused large-scale projects in its home country in 2025 after becoming disillusioned.
Despite the job cuts, GSK is betting that consolidating its R&D operations in Cambridge will speed up drug development and help it navigate a period of significant revenue loss as patents expire on key products. The company declined to specify how many roles would be cut, but said the £1.9bn savings would be found over three years, largely from back-office reductions.