Biobanks are biomedical research facilities that process and stores a wide variety of biospecimens, to include whole tissue, blood, DNA, plasma, purified saliva, cell lines, stem cell populations, and more. The goal of biobanking is to preserve biological samples for storage, and importantly, potential use at a later point in time. Biobanks are now playing a major role in assisting pharmaceutical companies with drug discovery and development efforts. They are also driving forward precision medicine efforts, as they have the capacity to allow physicians to select the best treatment option for specific patients. However, effectively preserving tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of biological samples can be a daunting task.

To honor this growing industry, speakers at the “Biorepositories and Sample Management Summit” held today at the Hilton Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts delivered a jam-packed day of content.

We heard presenters discuss biobanking topics that included: [Read more…]