Marken Announces Expansion Of Cryogenic Services

- RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, North Carolina, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Marken today announced the expansion of its cryogenic (liquid nitrogen) service locations to facilitate global cell & gene therapy trials.  Marken's expanded network now includes facilities in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Frankfurt, Singapore and Tokyo.  Johannesburg will be added later this year to complete the global network. The combination of its expanded locations and packaging fleet allows Marken to meet client demands in a rapidly growing industry. Ultra-low temperature transportation has become an increasingly important supply chain requirement for cell, gene or immunotherapy-based medicines. The complex process of extracting human cells and transporting them across country borders under strict time and temperature requirements pose significant challenges for the logistics industry.  Materials derived from patient samples are usually bio-hazardous, have a short shelf life and must reach the manufacturing site within 28-48 hours of the patient visit.  Regulators also require 'chain of identity' assurance that each patient has received his or her own individualized medicine.  Marken's expanded cryogenic network of liquid nitrogen filling locations and specialized fleet of packaging will allow its clients to recruit and treat patients from a greater number of countries around the world. The global gene therapy market is projected to grow to $363m by 2022.  An estimated 2,200 clinical trials are expected to drive this growth and will focus on oncology, rare diseases, Parkinson's, HIV, severe combined immuno-deficiencies (SCID) and hemophilia. The majority of these trials are projected to take place in the US, Europe, Canada and China1. Wes Wheeler, Marken's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We continue to see an increase in the demand for cell and gene therapy trial shipments. We are committed to building the largest cryogenic service network in the clinical logistics industry in order to serve our clients who are engaged in immunotherapy research." 1 Global Gene Therapy Market Analysis & Forecast to 2022, Kelly Scientific Publications, March 2018 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 services and biological sample shipments and offers a state-of-the-art GMP-compliant depot network and logistic hubs in 48 locations worldwide for clinical trial material storage and distribution. Marken's more than 860 staff members manage 50,000 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. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/128173/marken_new_website_logo.jpg