For Companies

Welcome to Biosample Hub!

We empower biotech companies by providing access to reliable clinical samples with provenance information. Our unique approach involves connecting you directly to hospital biobanks and fostering open communication.

Access a vast range of sample and disease types

You can access everything from infectious and parasitic diseases, to cancers/neoplasms, diseases of all the body systems (blood, immune, endocrine,  nervous system, circulatory, respiratory, digestive, musculoskeletal, genitourinary, etc), nutritional and metabolic disorders, mental and behavioural disorders, disorders of the eye and ear, disorders of pregnancy, perinatal, congenital and chromosomal disorders, and more. In addition, you can access a range of normal tissues and body fluids, umbilical cord blood, and microbiome samples.

... in a wide range of storage formats

Sample types may be solid tissue, blood, plasma, serum, PBMCs, or other body fluids. Storage format may be fresh and viable, or stored by freezing or fixation. They may be processed to organoid cultures (PDO) or xenograft models (PDX). Collection may be retrospective or prospective. Not only this, but samples are available from diverse populations around the globe. Through Biosample Hub, you can get in direct contact with all 80+ biobanks on the network and develop agreements independently. Revolutionize your research with a platform that simplifies and accelerates the process of acquiring crucial clinical samples for your biotech endeavors.

Fees and Services

Updated 22nd Jan 2024

Introduction

  • No fee
  • Optional zoom call with guided tour of our platform
  • We will advise you on the feasibility of finding your required samples on our platform
Contact Us

Starter Membership

  • Subscription fee of £750 for 3 months
  • You can submit a single request for a single condition or disease
  • We send your request to all biobanks on platform to find suitable providers and we also target the most relevant providers, based on our experience
  • We carry out an off-platform search if no suitable provider is found within 6 weeks
  • If you do not find a suitable provider by the end of 3 months, you can submit one more single request
  • Access to many resources on the Members website for 3 months.
  • Expert advice based on 25 years experience of providing biospecimens to industry
  • As a starter member, you can upgrade to Full Membership with a £750 discount
  • 30% discount for not-for-profit companies
Application Form

Full Membership

  • Subscription fee of £3000 for year 1. This is reduced to £1500 for year 2 and each subsequent year
  • This gives you complete access to our platform and resources
  • You can communicate directly with all the biobanks on the platform
  • You can submit up to 10 requests which are advertised to all the biobanks on the platform. In addition, we highlight each request to the most relevant biobanks
  • We provide 2 off-platform searches per year if required
  • Expert advice based on 25 years experience of providing biospecimens to industry
  • 30% discount for not-for-profit companies
Application Form

Comparison of Membership Options

Advantages of Biosample Hub

We provide the following advantages to biotech companies:

1. Large biobank network

Biosample Hub provides access to a global network of around 80 Academic Biobanks.

2. Industry-friendly biobanks

All the biobanks on our network want to provide human biospecimens for industry research. There are two reasons for this high level of interest. Firstly, providing samples to industry is the platform’s sole purpose. Secondly, Biosample Hub membership is voluntary.

3. Samples with provenance

Direct contact with the source biobank is an essential part of Biosample Hub. The resulting close communication brings many benefits. Most important, it allows for complete provenance data on human biospecimens. It also provides access to scientific and clinical expertise. Also, it brings access to services like tissue sectioning and staining. Furthermore, companies and biobanks must be in direct contact to follow EU regulations on IVD medical devices.

4. Prospective collections

Over 75% of the biobanks on our platform will provide prospective collections. With a prospective collection, samples can be collected according to your specific requirements.  Prospective collection is always necessary, if you require fresh and viable tissue samples.

5. User-friendly platform

This platform has many innovative features to facilitate connection with suitable biobanks. Furthermore, there is continuing development of the platform to improve its performance. For details, see the Platform Page.

6. Financial transparency

A not-for-profit company runs the platform and it has no shareholders. So, we reinvest any financial surpluses into the company. Any transactions between the company and the biobank take place independently of the platform. Furthermore, Biosample Hub does not charge any commission.

7. No contract

There is no contract with Biosample Hub. So there is no hassle and no contractual restrictions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Which disease types?

Biosample Hub includes biobanks that cover the full range of human diseases.

What sample types?

The biospecimens most often requested are solid tissue and blood. Solid tissue may be normal or diseased, including tumour samples. It may be frozen or formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE). Requesters need fresh solid tissue for cell culture. Also, whole blood is a common request, or fractions like the buffy coat, serum or plasma. Furthermore, many other sample types are available, like CSF, sputum, urine, faeces, etc. In summary, a vast range of human biospecimens is available to meet your research needs.

What clinical information?

The amount of clinical information provided varies from one biobank to another.

One thing that is universal for all biobanks on this platform is that you will know the identity of the biobank. So if you need to access further clinical information on your samples, you can go direct to the source.

Any additional services?

The biobanks on our platform offer a wide variety of services. These may include extracting DNA, RNA or protein. They may also provide tissue sectioning, immunohistochemistry, quality control, cell culture, customized assays, and many other services.

What's prospective collection?

A prospective collection involves the ongoing and future accrual of human biospecimens for research. This approach is necessary if the requester requires a specific collection protocol. It is also essential for the collection of fresh samples. Most biobanks on our platform will offer a prospective collection.

What fee per sample?

All biobanks will charge a fee for biospecimens and prices vary between biobanks. The fees depend on many factors, including the cost of staffing in different countries. As the requester, you pay this fee direct to the biobank. Moreover, Biosample Hub does not charge any transaction fee.

Examples of biobank tariffs:

USA

Canada

Spain

France

UK

What if I can’t find samples?

If you can’t find the biospecimens you need in our directories, then you need to submit a request on the platform. Request submission is very straightforward. On receipt, we send your request to suitable biobank members. We also display it in the Request Directory. If you do not find biospecimens this way, then you need to inform us. We will then search our more extensive network outside the platform. Then we recommend biobanks for you to contact.

How do I join?

To join, you need to complete the application form, then pay the annual subscription.

Must I sign a contract?

No, there is no contract to sign with Biosample Hub. All you need to do is observe the terms and conditions on the website.

To access clinical samples, you sign a material transfer agreement with the biobank.

Testimonials From Company Members

“BioSampleHub has been invaluable for us. It is so easy to use and we have established connections that were only possible to find within the hub. Response rates have also been great. I would highly recommend signing up”. Karin Schmitt, Mursla Bio, UK

“Biosample Hub helps us to get in contact with biobanks efficiently, which is very important for our company with a focus on biomarker discovery”. Jan Tkac, Glycanostics Ltd, Slovakia

“Biosample Hub has been a great for us. The platform is very efficient and enables identification and connection to relevant sources and collaborators for human specimens. Outside of the platform, the team is very knowledgeable, provides seminars and learning resources, and is eager to help members manually with difficult scenarios”. Andreas Zembrzycki, SciNeuro, USA

“Biosample Hub has been very helpful in reaching out to biorepositories around the world. Good patient samples and associated data are not easy to source and Biosample Hub has really helped us speed up the sourcing process. They have also put in a personal touch by reaching out directly themselves to organizations in their network known to have relevant samples. Overall we are very happy with the Biosample Hub support that will help us validate and certify our product that much faster”. Egbert Smit, MLA Diagnostics BV,  The Netherlands

“We have supported the Biosample Hub project since its start since we think that a worldwide platform of reliable and ethically sourced clinical samples is urgently needed”. Stefano Palea, Humana Biosciences S.A.S., France.

“Biosample Hub assists beneficial collaborations between industry and academia through its intuitive platform which connects groups in a fair and transparent manner”. Liam Burke-Masterson, Genuity Science, Ireland.

“Biosample Hub provides an essential missing link between biotech researchers and medical sites/non-commercial biobanks – as a biotech scientist, I appreciate how it gives me access to a much wider range of potential biosamples vs. the usual mix of commercial providers”. Anonymous researcher, South SF, CA.

“We valued the speed and transparency of the platform and plan on harnessing the network for future sample acquisition efforts”.  James Sietstra, Totient, USA.

“BioSample Hub plays a critical role in connecting with biobank worldwide. I particularly appreciate the nice design and the intuitiveness of the platform”. Ninon Guichard, Galapagos, France.