BBMRI-ERIC: the novel gateway to biobanks

BBMRI-ERIC, the Biobanking and BioMolecular Resources Research Infrastructure-European Research Infrastructure Consortium, is a new form of umbrella organization for biobanking in Europe. For rare and common diseases alike, it aims at providing fair access to quality-controlled human biological samples and associated biomedical and biomolecular data. Such access enables basic mechanisms underlying diseases to be studied, which is indispensable for the development of new biomarkers and drugs. In the context of the European Research Area (ERA), biobanks, which were identified as a particular European strength, contribute to Europe’s cohesion policy through capacity-building in the BBMRI-ERIC member countries.