Patient samples to conduct your research
We fund multiple initiatives to enable the life sciences industry to access patient samples. We can help you to understand what support is available, what service is best suited to your research, and how to access it. Our support will be most beneficial if you contact us at an early stage in your research journey.
The sources of patient samples in the UK are:
- NIHR BioResource
- MRC-NIHR National Phenome Centre
- Genomics England
- The UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) Tissue Directory
NIHR BioResource
The NIHR BioResource accelerates discovery in disease research by providing access to genetic, phenotypic and metabolomic data. It comprises over 200,000 highly characterised healthy volunteers and patients with common and rare diseases who have signed up to participate in health research.
There are currently 18 local BioResource Centres across England. Each BioResource Centre is connected to the corresponding local NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).
By enabling access to well characterised groups of individuals by genotype and/or phenotype, our BioResource can help you identify and recruit individuals who are suitable for your clinical trial. You can also receive advice, support and feedback from key opinion leaders, clinicians and academics working in your field of research.
Industry partners can apply to the NIHR BioResource through:
- Collaborations with a Principal Investigator at one of our BRCs
- Commercial agreements with the NIHR BioResource, which would include an initial set-up study fee, costs associated with volunteer enrolment, and sample collection/shipment
Find out more:
MRC-NIHR National Phenome Centre
The MRC-NIHR National Phenome Centre offers a wide range of services from broad profiling untargeted assays through to targeted assays. It is accessible by both academics and the life sciences industry. These services are offered on a collaborative project basis or via a fee-for-service basis.
This initiative is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the NIHR, led by Imperial College London and King's College London.
Genomics England
The NIHR part funds Genomics England, which is partnered with the NHS. Genomics England's aim is to equip researchers to find the causes of diseases and develop new treatments. It does this by providing whole genome sequencing data for the development of personalised and predictive healthcare solutions.
The UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) Tissue Directory
The NIHR is one of eight funders of the UKCRC Tissue Directory. This free online resource catalogues the different types of human sample resources available across the UK, including biobank, cohort, biorepository, and clinical trial samples. It's the only one of its kind that covers all regions, sample types and disease areas.
The UKCRC Tissue Directory has catalogued over 180 sample resources covering 136 diseases, and continues to catalogue more. Researchers can search the directory by gender, age, and disease, to either find banked samples or resources that can acquire bespoke collections.
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