A broad alliance of academic science and research-driven industry aims to pave the way for a nationwide ‘Biobank Platform for Germany’. The Network of University Medicine (NUM) together with the German Biobank Network (GBN), the pharmaceutical associations vfa and BPI, the Fraunhofer Society, the Diagnostics Industry Association (VDGH), the biotechnology industry association BIO Deutschland, the German University Medicine association, and the TMF – Technology and Methods Platform for Networked Medical Research e. V. have agreed on a comprehensive concept. Their goal is to make millions of tissue and liquid samples stored in Germany, as well as derived data, available for medical research through a central digital platform, while ensuring the highest quality, data protection, and ethical standards. This will lay the foundation for state-of-the-art diagnostics, personalised therapies, and innovative prevention strategies that benefit patients.
Broad alliance of academic research and industry
With the nine participating organisations and institutions, all university medicine sites and more than 500 companies from biotechnology, diagnostics and pharmaceuticals are backing the concept – thus representing a significant proportion of those who contribute to or wish to use biobanks for research. The concept will now be discussed with the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and the German Bundestag.
Digital platform with service function
The planned platform will provide a central overview of biobank samples and data and coordinate research enquiries. It will be operated by a service unit offering a straightforward usage agreement, expert advice, and brokered access to data from the individual sites. The centre will also integrate sequencing data from the participating sites. This will create a service-oriented infrastructure that strengthens both academic research and Germany’s key industries in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and diagnostics.
Added value for research, industry and society
The platform will accelerate the development of prevention measures, diagnostic methods and personalised therapies. Collaborations with industry partners will become more intensive, while development costs can be reduced.
The example of the UK Biobank with its 500,000 participants illustrates the potential of such an investment: within a short period of time, the amount of public funding flowing back into the economy as profit was many times greater than the initial investment, generating tax revenue and further investment in the process.
A concerted initiative of rare scale in biomedicine
It is unusual for a concept such as the ‘Biobank Platform for Germany’ to unite such a broad alliance of academic and industrial research. All partners welcome the fact that the German Federal Government has committed itself to a National Biobank in both the coalition agreement and in the ‘High-Tech Agenda’. The expectation is clear: political promises must swiftly be turned into action.
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The concept paper 'A National Biobank Platform for Germany' can be found here.
