The quiet end of the consolidator trading as Meridian Freight Partners

the consolidator trading as Meridian Freight Partners has ceased trading after 14 years, ending an operation that at its largest employed a few dozen people and served, on its own account, several thousand patients a month. The closure follows the resolution of the shortage listing on which a substantial share of its volume depended, and was announced to customers by email with 31 days’ notice.

At its peak the operation ran two sterile suites, held a state licence in 14 jurisdictions, and published a catalogue of preparations that ran to several dozen items. Staff were given 31 days’ notice. The Journal has spoken to three former employees, none of whom would be quoted by name while severance discussions continued.

Customer deposits held in a general operating account are the recurring feature of these administrations. It is lawful in most jurisdictions and it means that in a failure the customer is financing the wind-down. Readers who prepay should understand which of those they are doing.

"If your deposit is in their operating account you are an unsecured creditor," said Alastair Renshaw, pharmaceutical supply-chain consultant. "That is a lending decision most customers do not know they are making."

"I had four weeks to move people who had been stable for a year," said Dr Rafał Sikorski, toxicologist, Medical University of Warsaw. "Two of them are not on anything now."

We are tracking the reappearance of this operation’s certificates in the market and will report any instance we can document.