Marken Announces Major Expansion Of Clinical Distribution Network

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Nov. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Marken today announced plans for major expansion of clinical logistics and storage capabilities through new GMP depots in South Korea and Ukraine.  The company also plans to add Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) storage capacity in Frankfurt and will add partner locations in Colombia, Taiwan, and Turkey.  These changes will bring Marken's network of GMP depots to 12 fully-owned and 12 partner depot locations.  With these additions, Marken will operate the most sophisticated and most strategically located depot network in the clinical supply chain industry.

The healthcare market in Korea is steadily growing and only a few global players are positioned to handle GMP/GDP- based service requirements. Marken Korea's Clinical Supply Center (depot) will be 1,792 sqm of GMP-compliant space located near the Gimpo airport.  It will operate with a Wholesale Dealers License (WDL) and will be fully operational by Q2 2020. Marken's new Ukraine depot is located within 10 km of the Boryspil International Airport, near the capital city of Kiev.  It will be 1,350 sqm of GMP-compliant space and will be operational in 2Q 2020.  Marken will also be expanding its Frankfurt Clinical Supply Center to accommodate storage of highly sensitive GMO, human cells and gene therapies under ultra-low (-150 deg C) temperatures. The storage unit will occupy space inside of Marken's existing depot facility and will be operational by Q1 2020.

Marken is also building a new Clinical Distribution Center near Bogota, Columbia.  The facility will be built inside of an existing 76,000 square foot UPS healthcare warehouse.

All Marken's depot facilities operate with the same, fully harmonized Standard Operating Procedures and Quality System.  In addition, all products and substances handled by these depots will be managed by Marken's customized and validated Solo inventory management system.

Wes Wheeler, Marken's Chief Executive Officer, said, "We continue to expand our global footprint and facilities to accommodate the growth of demand for our services. We see continued demand for clinical storage and distribution in Ukraine, South Korea, Columbia, Turkey and Taiwan.  We also see an increased demand for storage of substances which support cell & gene clinical trials and will continue to expand capacity as these trials begin to mature.  We are committed to be a full service supplier of services to the clinical trials industry."

About Marken
Marken is a wholly owned subsidiary of UPS. Marken is the only patient-centric supply chain organization 100% dedicated to the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. Marken maintains the leading position for Direct to Patient and Home Health care services, biological sample shipments and offers a state-of-the-art GMP-compliant depot network and logistic hubs in 54 locations worldwide for clinical trial material storage and distribution. Marken's more than 1,100 staff members manage 85,000 drug and biological shipments every month at all temperature ranges in more than 150 countries. Additional services such as biological kit production, ancillary material sourcing, storage and distribution, shipment lane verification and qualifications, as well as GDP, regulatory and compliance consultancy add to Marken's unique position in the pharma and logistics industry.

SOURCE Marken