LONDON Merck , the U.S. pharmaceutical group, has dropped plans to build a $1.4-billion research centre in Britain, blaming the country's "lack of investment" in the sector and its drugs prices. The company said in a statement it would not go through with the construction, which had been slated for the King's Cross district in central north London. The British government acknowledged the "concerning news" and was standing by to help Merck employees in the U.K. and others affected by the