A national platform to search and access human biospecimens and data could deliver annual benefits worth $39 million by streamlining how Australia’s biobanks and cohort studies are coordinated, according to a new CSIRO report.
Released in partnership with the NCRIS Health Group, NSW Health, the University of Sydney, the Medical Advances Without Animals Trust, Queensland Health and UNSW, the Valuation of increased coordination in Australian biobanking report is intended to inform Australia’s National Research Infrastructure Roadmap.
Australia is estimated to host more than 200 biobanks, holding over four million stored biospecimens. These collections underpin biomedical, clinical, public and population health research, providing access to human biological materials and associated data that can maximise the value of existing resources, improve representation of Australia’s diverse population in research, and support evidence-based public health decisions.
CSIRO Futures health and biosecurity lead Greg Williams said national coordination would make a measurable difference. “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 biobanks; 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 biobanks and cohort studies.”
Michael Dobbie, CEO of Phenomics Australia and representative for the project’s steering committee, said the country’s biobanks are fundamental research infrastructure and that coordination has long been needed to make better use of data and speed up lifesaving discoveries. “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,” Professor Dobbie said.
Professor Jennifer Byrne, Director of Biobanking at NSW Health and a steering committee member, said better visibility and access can strengthen the path from research to health outcomes. “For example, a researcher investigating a rare type of cancer would now be able to identify and access biospecimens from multiple institutions, linked with rich clinical and genomic data. This could potentially lead to the uncovering of a new biomarker that predicts treatment response and improves survival rates,” said Professor Byrne.
The report sets out five recommendations to improve national coordination:
– A comprehensive survey to map biobanks and cohort studies across the country
– A shared, national discovery and access platform
– A national governance framework for human health biobanking
– Consistent, nationally promoted quality management
– A national steering committee to guide coordination initiatives
“Based on the findings, we hope the report will provide an opportunity for further discussions about the biobanks and studies that we have across Australia, the importance of federated digital environments to connect them and the need for consistent governance frameworks,” said Bev Muhlhausler, Senior Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO.
The authors argue that a more connected biobanking ecosystem would reduce duplication, accelerate study start-up, and make Australia a more attractive partner for global research and development. They also emphasise the importance of governance, quality standards and participant trust as foundations for scaling access to biospecimens and linked clinical and genomic data.
