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Marken Leads Logistics for Urgent Vaccine Need in Papua New Guinea
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, North Carolina, Nov. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Marken shared news today of a coordinated project for shipments of biological samples to test for the presence of the polio virus in Papua New Guinea (PNG). An outbreak of the virus across areas of PNG was confirmed earlier this year, and national emergency outbreak response activities were immediately launched in the country. As part of this, samples from patients were immediately shipped to a WHO-accredited laboratory in Manila, Philippines. The samples were carefully packaged and shipped by Marken while following strict safety protocols and under tight timelines. The lab results allowed public health experts to quickly assess the level of outbreak and dispatch the appropriate vaccine quantities to the infected areas of population.
PNG had been polio-free since 2000 but in mid-2018, an outbreak occurred with 21 confirmed cases of the disease, which largely affects young children. The children affected in PNG range from 12 months old to just under 10 years. An emergency vaccination campaign in Port Moresby began in August and a nationwide PNG campaign followed in October. The government of PNG declared the outbreak a national public health emergency, and launched a national emergency action plan to urgently stop the outbreak, which is being supported by partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (WHO, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation).
Michael Culme-Seymour, Vice President Asia Pacific (APAC) Region, commented, "Marken is proud to be leading the logistics for the important and life-saving work of polio eradication. Marken also supports public health authorities in other areas of the Asia Pacific for the urgent and safe transportation of critical vaccines and biological samples. We will continue to work closely together to ensure that the right vital logistics support is dedicated to this important task of eradicating polo in Papua New Guinea as well as other parts of the world."
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 48 locations worldwide for clinical trial material storage and distribution. Marken's more than 900 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.
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