Marken expands Latin American network for biological shipments

Pharmaceutical logistics specialist Marken said Tuesday it had expanded its clinical logistics service network for delivering shipments from Latin America to the U.S. by adding Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico, and Buenos Aires, with plans to add several more cities.

Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based Marken currently sends nearly all of its shipments from Mexico City to the U.S. through the air network of UPS Inc., Marken's parent company. It will now offer similar services from the two additional Mexican cities and Buenos Aires.

Marken operates a global network of FDA-compliant medical depots and logistic hubs that support the storage and distribution of materials used in clinical trials and drug research. Marken certifies that each lane in its network has been tested to ensure compliance with local dangerous-goods regulations, including governmental agency and customs regulations, and to meet the 24- to 48-hour door-to-door transit time required for sensitive medical shipments.

The move expands Marken's share of the estimated 2,000 daily shipments of clinical drug and biological sampling kits from Latin America into the U.S., the company said.

"We are the first to load biological sample shipments onto an integrator flight from Buenos Aires (EZE) using the UPS airline, which then allows us to arrive at any U.S. laboratory early the next morning," Marken CEO Wes Wheeler said in a statement. "We are now moving forward with further testing in Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Panama, and Peru."