Economics of Biobanking

The economics of biobanking is an area that has traditionally been overlooked as biospecimen resources have been developed and expanded over the past 20 years. The explosive growth of interest in biobanking, and in the value of biospecimens and data that they collect and disseminate, has led to the necessity to adopt professional standards and practices, including business plans. There are a number of factors to consider in developing a biobank business plan, and some of these issues are unique to biospecimen resources. The costs of developing and maintaining a biobank are often difficult to assess given the traditional methods of funding including centralized institutional funding. Among the approaches to developing a business plan is the assessment of such costs and implementation of a cost-recovery plan. However such plans are difficult to implement or not allowed by institutional rules, and smaller biobanks may not be in a position to devote resources to developing and implementing a business plan. A broader approach that plans for the long-term sustainability of a biobank or biobanking network within a framework that considers the size and mission of the resource is now evolving.