Research

BC Platforms Adds the Interdisciplinary Center for Biobanking Lübeck to its Global Network of Biobanks

Streamlined solution for the rapid identification of suitable cohorts and data for clinical research.

The Interdisciplinary Center for Biobanking Lübeck (ICB-L) will join the BCRQUEST global network of biobanks. BC Platforms, a leading global provider of genomic data management and analytics, will operate the platform. It is a streamlined solution for the rapid identification of suitable cohorts and data for clinical research without compromising data protection and patient confidentiality.

BC Platforms will make its platform BCRQUEST.com available to academic and industry researchers. This will allow them to efficiently browse and analyse harmonised data for scientific research and the development of medicines. The ICB-L, the first German biobank to join the network, will offer access to summary level data of over 60,000 subjects with clinical and/or research data. The ICB-L also supports over 40 clinical groups in the region and facilitates access to some unique data collections within the University of Lübeck and the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck.

The partnership’s combined goals are to accelerate precision medicine led healthcare and facilitate real world evidence studies assessing healthcare outcomes of patients in routine clinical practice using large and heterogenous patient populations. The ICB-L will join a unique and growing scientific resource network that enables deeper and more specific analysis of populations. This will have a positive effect on the health of patients who do not currently have access to adequate healthcare.

Prof. Jens Habermann, the University of Lübeck’s Executive Board Representative for the ICB-L and President of the European, Middle Eastern and African Society for Biopreservation and Biobanking (ESBB), said: “Our biobank collections, with the support of clinical research groups in Lübeck, make a valuable contribution to the ecosystem that BC Platforms is building. The clinical data at Lübeck can be used to understand disease epidemiology, patterns of care, patients’ needs as well as gaining valuable insight into treatment effectiveness and safety. This partnership with BC Platforms offers us a new venue for collaboration by appropriately and securely using the data to benefit future patients in day-to-day clinical practice.”

Tero Silvola, CEO of BC Platforms, said: “We are delighted to add ICB-L and their invaluable clinical data to our network of biobanks. We now have over three million subjects within our network with clinical data and subsets of genomic data that we are able to share through our data partners with academic and commercial customers. We believe that together we can effectively leverage this data to support precision medicine initiatives and real world evidence to deliver better patient outcomes.”

About BC Platforms:
BC Platforms is a world leader in providing powerful genomic data management and analysis solutions. The high performing genomic data management platform enables flexible data integration, secure analysis and interpretation of molecular and clinical information. The company has launched and opened a global network of biobanks, known as BCRQUEST.COM, to provide genomic and clinical cohort data for pharmaceutical and medical research and development. BC Platforms’ vision is to build the world’s leading analytics platform for healthcare and industry by 2020, providing access to diverse genomic and clinical data and samples from more than 5 million subjects consolidated from a global network of biobanks.

Founded in 1997 from an MIT Whitehead project spinoff, the company has a strong scientific heritage underpinned by over 20 years of working in close collaboration with a network of leading researchers, developers, manufacturers and vendors. BC Platforms has global operations with its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, research and development in Espoo, Finland, and sales and marketing in London, Boston, and Vancouver (Twitter @BCPlatforms).

About the Interdisciplinary Center for Biobanking Lübeck:
The Interdisciplinary Center for Biobanking Lübeck (ICB-L) serves over 40 clinical departments and institutes of the University of Lübeck and the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein and forms the basis for excellent research for patients’ future benefits. The ICB-L is DIN EN ISO 9001 certified since 2011, performs standardised collection and processing of tissue and liquid biospecimens using automated nitrogen storage solutions, and thereby promotes translational research and clinical trials at the highest level. The aim of the ICB-L is to enable the biospecimen collections and associated clinical data to be used for basic research and identification, testing and validation of innovative biomarkers for improved diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and follow-up. The ICB-L also promotes targeted therapies and strategies for personalised medicine. The ICB-L is part of several academic networks on a national and international level, including eleven BMBF-funded biobanks of the German Biobank Alliance (GBA), and is deeply involved in activities of the European, Middle Eastern & African Society for Biopreservation and Biobanking (ESBB).