National Biobank Network

2021: Software and OBD Development

Russia The first digital biobank will be created in. The platform was developed, National BioService (NBS) which is engaged in the development of a network of domestic biobanks as part of the Helsnet roadmap of the National Technology Initiative () NTI and is a portfolio company of Biofond, RVC which announced this on October 1, 2021. Digitalization will provide opportunities for information exchange between laboratories and biobanks of the regions RUSSIAN FEDERATION and quickly fulfill requests for the provision of samples of biological materials for research and development.

The NBS digital platform is a unified information system that allows you to manage a geographically distributed collection of samples of biological materials. Software and a database for the online biobank have already been created, registration, sample preparation, storage and delivery of samples of biological materials to researchers through a digital platform have been organized.

The digital bank is still functioning as an internal information platform and is used to conduct its own research. We plan to scale this system to collaborate with clinical and research organizations. When developing the platform, it was important to ensure the security of the transmitted data, to prepare and run a functional module to fulfill requests for the provision of samples, said Irina Koshkarova, advisor to the National BioService CEO.

The collection of biological materials of the NBS as of September 2021 reached hundreds of thousands of samples. We are talking about tissue samples and cell lines, without which it is impossible to create any drug or diagnostic test. One of the areas is the development and production of tissue microarrays (TMA). The tissue microchip is a paraffin block with tissue cylinders embedded in it with a diameter of 0.6 to 3.0 mm. Paraffin sections of TMA are used for histological, immunohistochemical or molecular genetic research. With their help, methods for diagnosing and combating coronavirus are also being developed. Since 2020, in partnership with the NBS, a scientific consortium of St. Petersburg State University and Dresden Technical University has been operating to study in depth the response of the immune system to coronavirus infection. The essence of the approach is to assess the possibility of using plasma of sick COVID-19 with a known neutralizing antibody titer in the complex treatment of severe patients.

2018

Animal and human experiments are being conducted in the development of new drugs and treatments. But to solve many problems, it is enough to study samples of human tissues outside of his body. To this end, a nationwide network of biobanks is being created in Russia.

In 2014, the Biofond of the Russian Venture Company (RVC) invested in the creation of the first official bank of biological samples in Russia. This structure has proved its need for doctors. Now, with the support of the RVC and the Skolkovo Foundation, it is being transformed into a national platform.

As Prutsky Vitaliy, head of the National BioService (NBS) project, told Izvestia, the project provides for the development of an all-Russian network of biobanks. They will work with clinical centers. The NBS should provide materials to diagnostic and pharmaceutical organizations, conduct independent research^[1].

"For example, the Moscow Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology named after Gamalei is developing antibodies against the Ebola virus," Vitaly Prutsky said. - There is a risk of side effects. Say, a person will be treated for Ebola, and he will suddenly become blind. Accordingly, we help the Gamalei Institute study the response of the antibodies created to a huge number of diverse tissues.

Biobanking and bioservice services from NBS are in demand among pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies not only from Russia.

"The era of personalized medicine has come," said Sergey Orlov, oncologist and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. - Research with biological samples - necessary for the development of this direction. Scientists need tissues with certain pathologies or genetic mutations. Their study will make it possible to invent new drugs that can make a breakthrough in the treatment of many diseases.

As part of the NBS project, three biobank laboratories have already been opened - in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod. It is planned to create such organizations throughout the country.

The sources of samples are local medical institutions. They receive biomaterials in the process of regular clinical activity. The number of Russian medical organizations supplying materials for the national biobank is already approaching a hundred.

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