Cooperation between academic biobanks and industrial enterprises is often viewed with criticism. Particularly when biobanks make biospecimens and related data available to these enterprises. Cooperation between biobanks and industry certainly harbours considerable potential, however, as the development of treatments and diagnostics validation are highly dependent on human biospecimens and related data.
The German Biobank Node (GBN) and German Biobank Alliance (GBA) have drafted a position paper entitled “Position Statement from the German Biobank Alliance on the Cooperation Between Academic Biobanks and Industry Partners”. It provides a concise overview of the advantages and critical aspects – including the potentially negative impact on the willingness to donate and the question of “reasonable” compensation for biobanks – and outlines the corresponding solutions. The position paper is based on the outcomes of a GBA-internal workshop held on 21 June 2018. It has been published in the ‘Biopreservation and Biobanking’ journal as an open access document.
