onCore UK, a collaboration between the Department of Health, the Medical Research Council, and Cancer Research UK, has licensed LabVantage’s Sapphire BioBanking Solution to support the launch of its ambitious large scale operational cancer biobank. The biobank is a national biosample resource, to collect data on tissue and blood samples donated by patients and make them available to cancer researchers on a scale unprecedented in the UK.
To be successful, onCore UK needs to streamline the collection and management of varying types of samples and associated data through its biosample donation network. The biosample bank also needs to provide controlled access for data entry, analysis and reporting, while ensuring compliance with patient privacy/consent restrictions and government regulations.
Sapphire's interface will serve as the portal to the biobank, providing secure, browser access for researchers, clinicians, and third party collaborators. As a flexible, thin-client solution, Sapphire will provide onCore UK with lower total cost of ownership, without the reliance on high cost programming resources, maximising its return on investment.
‘Sapphire is specifically designed to address the unique challenges of biobanks throughout the globe, whether as part of national initiatives such as onCore's, consortiums of privately funded institutions, or commercial collaborations between pharma and academia,’ said Jim Aurelio, president and CEO of LabVantage.
