CVR - Coronavirus Vaccines R&D Roadmap

Milestone
2.1.a

Pre-COVID biorepositories

Completed
High priority
Ongoing

Develop centralized and virtual biorepositories, and an associated governance structure, to use pre-COVID-19 pandemic clinical samples, including mucosal (e.g., nasal lavage, saliva, lymphoid tissue, upper-airway cellular samples) and serologic samples that are currently available from a range of research laboratories, potentially by tapping into existing biobanks. Enable transfer agreements to facilitate rapid sharing of biorepository samples to laboratories worldwide.

Progress Highlights

See CVR Scholar Hub page: Repositories for Coronavirus Research

Multiple global biorepositories exist that can fulfill this goal, including but not limited to:

  • The Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure biobank directory (BBMRI) is a network of biobanks that can provide COVID-19-research-specific clinical samples, including those for mucosal immunity research, upon request from the virtual directory. It has a well established governance structure composed of its member sites.
     
  • The International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) hosts the International Repository Locator, to help investigators locate biospecimens, including COVID-19 related biospecimens, from repositories around the world. It also hosts the Biobank Assessment Tool to ensure that member repositories fit ISBER’s best practices guidelines. ISBER is governed by an international board of directors. 
     
  • Multiple large-scale global biobank networks hosted by private companies, such as ispecimen.com and iprocess.net.