The UPS Store, Marken Team Up For Drop-Off Service for Clinical Trial Samples in U.S.

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 28, 2018 -- The UPS Store and Marken announced today the launch of a new option that will allow nurses to drop off clinical trial samples at approximately 4,600 The UPS Store® locations within the United States. This expanded service is a direct result of the exponential growth of home-based clinical trials in the past few years. The UPS Store and Marken are subsidiaries of UPS (NYSE: UPS), and are proud to be able to provide patients and nurses greater flexibility and convenience for home care.

This new option complements the diverse portfolio of Corporate Retail Solution programs available through The UPS Store. These custom solutions can leverage the physical footprint of The UPS Store locations to help improve a client’s operations and enhance their customer service experience. 

“At The UPS Store, we’re always looking to build relationships with corporate customers who can benefit from our locally owned and operated stores throughout the U.S.,” said Jeff Giboney, Vice President of The UPS Store Corporate Retail Solutions. “Through providing convenient locations for drop-offs and outstanding customer service we give people one less thing to worry about during a trying time. The UPS Store has an expansive network that will make it possible for Marken to reach more customers than ever before.”

Approximately 84% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a The UPS Store location in the United States. The UPS Store locations have the capability to handle pre-packed, pre-paid shipments with samples that require dry ice. The UPS Store can offer UPS Next Day Air® service, early morning delivery to the central and regional labs from many origins.

Marken will manage the booking of shipments with UPS in order to ensure protocol compliance, patient data blinding and data encryption, which are required for clinical trials.

Wes Wheeler, Marken’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “As the clinical trial industry moves toward more personalized treatments, Marken is ensuring our services evolve for these more complex and specialized trials. This new drop-off solution will allow nurses to take specimens directly to one of the closest The UPS Store centers and enable fast delivery to our central lab client locations for rapid analysis. Given our new ownership by UPS, we are now able to leverage their vast network and the thousands of daily flights each day to all parts of the United States.”

About The UPS Store

With approximately 5,000 locations across North America, The UPS Store network comprises the nation’s largest franchise system of retail shipping, postal, print and business service centers. The UPS Store locations in the U.S. are independently owned and operated by licensed franchisees of The UPS Store, Inc., a subsidiary of UPS. Services, products, pricing and hours of operation may vary by location. For additional information on The UPS Store, visit theupsstore.com. For information on franchise opportunities for opening a The UPS Store location, visit https://www.theupsstorefranchise.com/. Follow The UPS Store on Twitter at @TheUPSStore and like The UPS Store on Facebook at facebook.com/theupsstore.

Chelsea Lee		
[email protected]