Poland's Giant Step in Diagnostics Research Development

The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland has approved the decision on Poland's joining the Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure – European Research Infrastructure Consortium (BBMRI_ERIC). Poland has thus made a giant step in the development of biomedical sciences and diagnostics research. Already in 2009, the weekly "Times" considered biobanking to be one of ten most significant ideas changing the world. The international scientific and medical milieus have for years seen biobanks as research centres paving the way to the future of medicine and diagnostics research. In Europe, the role of biobanks in the development of biomedical sciences was noticed many years ago, a testimony to which are numerous initiatives undertaken on domestic and EU levels aiming to ensure the growth of such infrastructures. Therefore, potential recipients of biobanks in Poland will be, first and foremost, research and scientific units, biotech and pharmaceutical companies, and hospitals, which will be able to obtain well characterised biological material for research purposes. Importantly, personalised medicine - recently increasing in significance to a considerable degree - is just one of the areas where accumulating biological material is an indispensable factor and a guarantee of success. Further areas of research whose development will be possible only if access to large resources of human biological material is ensured include research into rare and incurable diseases, development of new diagnostic methods and medicines, or advanced environmental studies (e.g. pertaining to the impact of toxins). Poland's joining BBMRI-ERIC (Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure – European Research Infrastructure Consortium), i.e. an organisation whose members are over 225 institutions and research units (mainly biobanks) from 30 countries, will make it possible for our country to become involved in making decisions about the strategy for the development of biomedical sciences in Europe and apply for subsidies under the current EU Framework Programme "Horizon 2020" oriented towards the obtainment of highly competitive research results, publications and implementations. However, it isn't all. An exceptionally significant opportunity resulting from Poland's participation in the consortium is also potential economic advantages. Interest can be already observed in cooperation with Polish biobanks on the part of the domestic industry, which by the year is spending increasingly considerable funds on clinical research into various products in other European countries. The reason why these resources are not being spent in Poland is the lack of a domestic biobanking network operating on the basis of internationally acclaimed rules and procedures. According to available estimates, the amount is over 100 million PLN a year, spent by Polish pharmaceutical companies on pre-clinical research in other EU countries. The research mainly concerns new medicines and substances used to improve diagnostics. Due to the fact that BBMRI-ERIC requires of its members that they build national biobanking networks adhering to jointly developed standards, theBBMRI.PL consortium was established in Poland comprising:  The Biobank of Wrocław's Research Centre EIT+, The Central Bank of Tissues and Genetic Material at the Research Unit of Medical Laboratory Diagnostics of the University of Medicine, The Tissue Engineering Workroom at the Research Unit of Histology and Embryology of Warsaw University of Medicine, The Biobank Workroom at the Department of Molecular Biophysics of the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Conservation of the University of Łódź, University of Medicine in Lublin, Silesian Piasts.  Medical University in Wrocław and The Regional Centre for Science and Technology in Chęciny near Kielce. The cost of Poland's membership in BBMRI-ERIC will be covered by the Ministry of Science and Tertiary Education. The application for membership in BBMRI-ERIC was developed by the Biobank of Wrocław's Research Centre EIT+. Source: EIT+