NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Genomics services firm BioServe will use biosamples from Philadelphia's Fox Chase Cancer Center to supplement its Global Repository under an exclusive two-year agreement, the Beltsville, Md.-based company said.
The agreement is part of an effort to plug up a "shortage of clinical quality biomaterials" for use in genetic and biomarker-focused cancer research that has caused a bottleneck in biotechnology research, BioServe said.
"The scope and sustainability of specimens collected by Fox Chase is as unique as it is impressive, covering nearly every major solid tumor type," BioServe President Rama Modali said in a statement.
Fox Chase's specimens are supported by annotations that include medical histories, detailed records of treatments and outcomes, and specimens collected for the repository that can trace each anonymized patient's pathway from pre-diagnosis to treatment and long-term follow-up care.
"Our biosamples have tremendous clinical value, and getting them into the hands of as many cancer researchers as possible is a priority for us," Fox Chase Chief Scientific Officer and Senior VP Jeff Boyd said.
Financial terms of the agreement were not released.