EuroBioBank - an international network of biobanks focused on neuromuscular biomaterials
EuroBioBank (www.eurobiobank.org) is an international network of DNA, cell and tissue banks for research on rare diseases. Established in 2001 through initial funding under the European Union's Fifth Framework Programme and coordinated by EURORDIS, the network's objective is to increase the availability of and facilitate access to and use of high quality human biomaterials for research on rare diseases, with a special focus on neuromuscular diseases.
In 2007 EuroBioBank became part of TREAT-NMD, where it is responsible for biobanking activities. The EuroBioBank network is currently composed of 15 biobanks from 8 EU countries, with three new members (including one from Canada) being ratified at the most recent annual meeting in April.
Biobanks and biomaterial collections across the world may join EuroBioBank. All samples remain in the possession of the member biobank, with EuroBioBank acting as a clearing house or "virtual" bank with an online catalogue and search engine for locating samples. Researchers from anywhere in the world who locate a sample of interest through the catalogue then liaise directly with the bank holding the sample, with sample exchange being facilitated by conditions set out in the EuroBioBank charter and standardised material transfer agreements.
Over 400,000 samples are available across the network and can be requested via the online catalogue. Approximately 13,000 samples are collected each year and 7,000 samples distributed throughout Europe and beyond.
EuroBioBank Network/ TREAT-NMD Annual Meeting 2010
The joint 8th EuroBioBank (EBB) Network/ WP04.1 TREAT-NMD Annual Meeting was held in Paris on 29-30 April 2010. The meeting was attended by 19 participants, including representatives from most member biobanks and from EURORDIS and AFM.
Within TREAT-NMD, EuroBioBank/EURORDIS is leader of WP04.1 “Develop and Manage Supranational Biobanks”. During the April meeting, participants were updated on the recent involvement of EuroBioBank in setting up the BBMRI (European Biobanking & Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure) prototype, in which EBB is one of the participating network of biobanks. In addition, Prof. Hanns Lochmüller, Newcastle University and Scientific Coordinator of EuroBioBank, explained how EBB will contribute to the new BIO-NMD project on biomarkers for neuromuscular diseases, by providing neuromuscular samples.
In view of the BBMRI initiative, EuroBioBank, like many other networks of biobanks in Europe, is moving towards improving its biobanking standards. In particular, quality control will be further implemented by sending a feedback questionnaire to former users of EBB samples, from three years ago, while with the goal of improving the EBB online catalogue of samples, biobankers were encouraged to continue testing the new Orphanet nomenclature to code samples (http://www.orpha.net/ > Services for Researchers > Classification of Rare Diseases). Finally, it was reiterated that data associated with the samples and diagnosis are the most important specificities of all biological samples, in particular of those coming from rare disease patients.
Three new candidate biobanks to the EuroBioBank Network were granted full membership status by the EBB General Assembly: the London and Newcastle MRC Centres for Neuromuscular Diseases and the Quebec DM Catalogue.
As innovative treatments for neuromuscular disorders need to be tested in vivo and in vitro before they can be tested in clinical trials, these additional member biobanks will contribute to increasing the choice and availability of rare neuromuscular biomaterials for translational research. Therefore, by expanding its network, EuroBioBank further fulfils its role as a core resource within TREAT-NMD.
