Several biorepositories and commercial platforms provide access to COVID-19 clinical samples and biospecimens. These include European and U.S. biobank networks (e.g., BBMRI, UK Biobank, Washington COVID-19 Biorepository) as well as commercial providers like iSpecimen and iProcess.
Milestone
2.1.b
New and ongoing biorepositories
In progress
High priority
Establish centralized and virtual biorepositories involving cohorts of subjects from diverse global regions with a history of coronavirus infection. These biorepositories will facilitate the timely standardized collections of samples of clinical importance (e.g., mucosal, bronchoalveolar lavage, serologic, bone marrow) to maximize research utility.
Progress Highlights
CEPI and PATH have launched the Biospecimen Sourcing Initiative to streamline and standardize the global collection of patient/survivor samples from infectious disease outbreaks. The project aims to reduce sample acquisition time from months to weeks, improve access to samples, and bolster rapid vaccine and assay development.