Marken expands logistics footprint with Touchdown International acquisition

Marken has acquired Touchdown International Ltd, a privately held specialty logistics company in Taiwan, for an undisclosed sum. Touchdown is dedicated to the life sciences industry and complements Marken’s strategy to continue expanding in the Asia Pacific region.

Touchdown was founded in 2013 as a specialty courier with specific expertise in clinical trials logistics.  In 2015, Marken entered into an exclusive sales and agency contract with Touchdown, which allowed Marken to quickly establish its brand with local pharmaceutical and life science clients.  With a dedicated staff and fleet of vehicles, Touchdown provides courier services across Taiwan for biological samples, clinical trial drug shipments, API-, and other clinical trial materials. The acquisition enables Marken to expand its service offerings in Taiwan by leveraging both Marken’s and UPS’ global transportation networks.

With the acquisition of Touchdown, Marken now has its own operational presence in Taiwan and adds its 46th global location to a continually expanding network of logistics sites, depots and regional offices.  The new legal entity will be named Marken Taiwan Ltd. with its headquarters in Taipei.

Mike Wu, the founder and CEO of Touchdown, will remain with Marken as the new general manager in Taiwan. Mike commented, “We have worked hard to establish Marken’s brand locally in Taiwan. We respect Marken’s approach to clinical trial logistics and are proud to introduce their services to our local life science clients. We are very much looking forward to becoming part of the Marken family.”

Michael Culme-Seymour, VP APAC for Marken stated, “Asia continues to be a vital part of Marken’s strategic growth plans.  With the acquisition of Touchdown, we now have a solid footprint in Taiwan, whose pharma market is expected to grow to US$84 billion by 2020. We can now serve our clients in Taiwan with the depth and breadth of our global services.”