Research Triangle Park, NC
UPS Healthcare announced today an investment and further expansion of its capabilities in cell and gene services via Marken, a UPS company. UPS Healthcare is adding eight centres of excellence to support Marken's global network of cell and gene services, bringing the total to 14 certified sites. The expanded network will support Marken's well-established services including cryogenic transport services, patient data protection, superior temperature monitoring technology and real-time GPS tracking.
As an important part of UPS Healthcare's offerings, Marken's worldwide network includes 56 certified locations to handle the sensitive shipments required during the clinical development of cell and gene therapies. The eight new locations – New York, Miami, Amsterdam, Paris, Melbourne, Sidney, Tokyo and Seoul – strengthen Marken's global Center of Excellence network, which already includes centres in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, London, Frankfurt and Singapore.
Marken has established a global control centte in its Research Triangle Park headquarters where it monitors all activities relative to its cell and gene clinical trials. The control centre monitors location and temperature in real time for all shipments, leverages UPS's expansive global network, monitors flight status and manages all potential supply chain disruptions.
Wes Wheeler, president of UPS Healthcare, commented, "UPS Healthcare continues to expand our service portfolio to support our growing number of cell and gene clients. These new breakthrough therapies are among the most complex and sensitive in our industry and we are planning on a best-in-class level of performance. We will continue to invest in our capabilities and maintain Marken's leadership position in the clinical trial logistics industry."
About UPS Healthcare and Marken
UPS Healthcare delivers unparalleled healthcare logistics expertise to its customers around the world. UPS Healthcare has 11+ million square feet of cGMP and GDP-compliant healthcare distribution space globally. Its services include inventory management, cold chain packaging and shipping, storage and fulfilment of medical devices, and lab and clinical trial logistics. UPS Healthcare's global infrastructure, its UPS® Premier visibility service, its track and trace technology, and its global quality system are well-suited to meeting today's complex logistics demands for the pharmaceutical, medical device, and laboratory diagnostic industries.
Marken is a wholly owned subsidiary of UPS and is a critical part of UPS Healthcare. With Polar Speed and Marken included, the UPS Healthcare division staffs 128 locations with 5,500 employees worldwide. Marken offers a state-of-the-art GMP-compliant depot network and logistic hubs for clinical medicine storage and distribution in 56 locations worldwide, while maintaining the leading position for Direct to Patient and Home Health care services, biological sample shipments and biological kit production. Marken's dedicated 1,600 staff members manage 100,000 medicinal product and biological sample shipments every month at all temperature ranges in more than 220 countries. Additional services such as 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.
