Can Academic Biobanks have a role in advancing Industry R&D?

Can Academic Biobanks have a role in advancing Industry R&D?

While working on a daily basis with academic biobanks, I am still surprised to discover that many of them don’t really understand how Industry is sourcing the biospecimens they need to support their R&D efforts. There seems to be a general misconception that industry is using mainly academic biobanks while in fact, the vast majority of industry R&D programs use other sources for biospecimens: commercial biobanks (at least 50 are active today in the United States) and even “biospecimen market places”. 


Most of the time, industry wants to obtain biospecimens as easily as they order lab reagents; Industry wants to access samples quickly without entering a time-consuming and fastidious administrative process. The ease of access is the main reason that most commercial biobanks are so successful even if for some of them there can be concerns about their compliance with ethical and regulatory requirements and the quality and traceability of samples. Surprisingly, industry seems to be unaware, or even, in some cases, prefers not to recognize these concerns. More disconcerting is the fact that human biospecimens are still largely considered as a commodity by Industry, treated in the same manner as a simple lab reagent. The generosity of the donor, and his motivation for donating samples is ignored or forgotten. 

We, at Trans-Hit Bio, a contract research organization, actively encourage Industry to be more open to working with academic biobanks because we strongly believe that academic biobanks are the best sources of biospecimens for ensuring quality, traceability and respect of donors. However, despite our efforts to streamline their administrative process while respecting their concerns and requirements, too many academic biobanks are still reluctant to change their existing policies, to allow them to contribute to more projects with Industry and as a consequence, help then ensure their sustainability.




Jay Tischfield

MacMillan Distinguished Prof, Rutgers Univ

6y

You might learn about RUCDR Infinite Biologics, perhaps the largest academic biobank, also serving the needs of nearly all the world's top Pharmas.

Is this situation of concern only in US? Or does it work same way in Europe?  Mikko

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