The Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Infrastructure (BBMRI) is one of the recommended ESFRI Biomedical and Life Sciences Infrastructures. The preparatory phase of BBMRI is currently underway and is funded by the European Commission, through Framework Programme 7 (FP7). BBMRI is being funded to establish a pan-European biobanking network through the coordination and harmonisation of the biomolecular resource infrastructure, including population-based cohorts, disease orientated cohorts, twin registries and clinical case/control studies. BBMRI will build on existing sample collections, resources, technologies, and expertise, which will be specifically complemented with innovative components and will be properly embedded into European scientific, ethical, legal and societal frameworks.

BBMRI’s preparatory phase aims to provide the basis for the operational biobanking infrastructure and plans to provide a strategy and structure for:

• a pan-European inventory of major European biobanks
• complementation of existing resources and technologies
• establishment of clear access rules
• facilitation of transnational combination and exchange of biological materials and data
• ensuring coordinated development of resources and technologies
• reducing the fragmentation of the scientific community
• developing a sustained financial basis for years to come

For further information on BBMRI please click on the following link; www.bbmri.eu

Ireland is playing a leading role in BBMRI’s Stakeholder Forum, with Michael Griffith as Chair and Derick Mitchell as Executive Manager supported by the Irish Platform for Patient Organisations, Science and Industry (IPPOSI). The Stakeholder Forum is actively collating the input and requirements of its broad stakeholder community comprising patients, clinicians, funding organisations, associated project partners, industry, and users. In addition, the Stakeholder Forum provides an opportunity for patients and users to interact systematically with investigators in biobanking and industry. Further information, including the outcome reports from the BBMRI Stakeholders' Forum events is available on the IPPOSI website at www.ipposi.ie.

Ireland’s participation in BBMRI is coordinated through Molecular Medicine Ireland and the Health Research Board is the sponsoring agency.

BBMRI is putting together an inventory of all biobanks across Europe to identify what biobanks should be part of this pan-European network of biobanks. If you would like your biobank to be part of this inventory BBMRI is requesting that you complete an on-line core questionnaire which is available at www.bbmri.eu/index.php/catalog-of-european-biobanks. BBMRI has advised that completion of the ‘core questionnaire is mandatory for a biobank to be registered with BBMRI’. Currently Ireland has two biobanks registered with BBMRI. MMI will continue to engage actively with the research community in 2010 to increase the number of Irish biobanks registered on BBMRI’s web-based catalogue of European biobanks of high quality in order to reflect the breadth of bio-repositories available in Ireland that supports biomedical research.

Please contact research@molecularmedicineireland.ie if you could like additional information on participation in BBMRI.