A report from the Australia’s national science agency (CSIRO) has estimated that a national platform for searching and accessing human biospecimens and data could deliver an annual economic benefit valued at AU$39 million, potentially leading to international collaborations and attracting biopharmaceutical companies.
The report: Valuation of increased coordination in Australian bio-banking, which has been developed in collaboration with research and government partners, aims to provide insights that will inform Australia’s National Research Infrastructure Roadmap.
Human health biobanks house human biological materials and associated data that support biomedical, clinical and population health research.
The report says that the total number of bio-banks in Australia is unknown, but that there are at least 200 that collectively host and provide access to more than four million biospecimens and associated data. In addition, most of the bio-banks operate with various levels of funding and ongoing support.
The report says that the absence of bio-bank coordination at a national level has resulted in reduced visibility and traceability of individual collections along with possible duplication of pre-existing collections, and growth of biospecimen stocks without consideration of long-term demand. This is coupled with inconsistent operating processes, data management systems and governance models.
These hurdles are compounded, with the report noting that a survey of Australian bio-bank users found that 62% of respondents had created their own bio-bank, while 64% had limited the scope of their research due to difficulties obtaining biospecimens.
Calling for national coordination of bio-banks, the report sets out three benefits. These are: improved visibility of available collections, reducing time and costs for researchers; improved accessibility, streamlining bio-bank governance; and harmonisation of protocols which can facilitate improved data quality.
While the report does not put an estimate on the cost of setting up and maintaining a shared national bio-bank platform, it does cite the European bio-banking research infrastructure which has annual operating expenses of AU$5.81 million. A portion is related to maintaining the shared, cross-national search and access platform.
Australia’s interest in greater coordination is aligned with other countries, but to date that report says that more progress has been made overseas. These efforts, the report says, “lay the foundation for integration into international networks and should inform Australia’s next steps.”
CSIRO Futures health and biosecurity lead Greg Williams said: “Coordination at a national level offers a range of benefits: reducing the time required to search and access biospecimens or data; accelerating research progress; promoting the utilisation of existing bio-banks; guiding the establishment, expansion or retirement of collections; and improving overall risk management,” he said. “These aspects are essential to promote international collaborations, attract biopharmaceutical companies and increase the outputs of bio-banks and cohort studies.”
Michael Dobbie, CEO of Phenomics Australia said biobanks are key research infrastructure for the country and national coordination is a longstanding need to maximise the use of data and accelerate lifesaving research.
“Australia has biobanks and cohort studies across all states and territories, for a wide range of diseases and conditions. They represent many years’ worth of effort from researchers, investment by research funders and trust from participants,” he said.
Further reading
- Health data access could provide £10 billion economic boost
- UK Biobank: Giant biopharma research project begins
- Faster clinical trials and data boost for medical researchers ahead
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