The pan-European Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure (BBMRI) is one of the projects identified by the EU as a future large-scale European research infrastructure. A seminar held on 28 May in the European Parliament took stock of the progress made so far and discussed future challenges for completing BBMRI.
Biobanks are collections of biological material, such as DNA, tissue, cells, blood or other bodily fluids. They also include the medical, environmental and lifestyle data linked with each sample.
Such a major infrastructure could allow the identification of disease genes and help understand relationships between genes, the environment, lifestyle and diseases. Crucially, it could also allow people to realise their potential to develop specific diseases, opening the door to personalised prevention programmes and treatments.
Biobanks are considered as a key resource in the study of the molecular basis of disease subtypes, the identification of new targets for therapy and speeding up drug discovery and development. They are also expected to help develop more precise diagnostic tools and study the environmental and genetic factors causing disease.
Currently, "nobody knows what [samples] are already available in which country," said Kurt Zatloukal from the Medical University of Graz, Austria, deploring "the significant duplication of efforts" at EU level as well as the fragmentation of the scientific community and lack of sustainable funding.
Currently, over 50 partners and around 150 associated partners are taking part in the BBMRI project.
Pharmaceutical or other medical companies, who also have their own collections of samples, are also waiting for the infrastructure to be put in place in order to guarantee access to large collections of well-characterised samples, a pre-requisite for the speedy development of new drugs and personalised medicine.
However, before establishing a true pan-European biobank, major ethical and legal questions need to be overcome and a legal framework needs to be found. The privacy and confidentiality of the donors, the use of genetic technologies, commercialisation of genetic products and intellectual property rights are also issues to be dealt with before the final structure can start working.
