Looking ahead with Erik Steinfelder: the future of biobanks

The concept of biobanks does not really appeal to the imagination of the layman. Those who are familiar with the concept sometimes see it as nothing more than a library collection of biological material. A storage place for blood, urine, DNA and saliva. That's not it for Erik Steinfelder of Thermo Fisher Scientific. For him it is so much more than that. “Biobanks are of enormous value to society.”

Today's biobank

Before we look ahead, let's first look at the present. “Although it is still a relatively young discipline, there is a strong infrastructure. There is a lot of mutual exchange and collaboration at an academic level and in hospitals. There are also more and more answers to legal and ethical issues of biobanks, which means progress is being made.”

“Can you just share biological material? What about privacy? How do we ensure that information about donors does not end up on the street? These are just a few questions, and quite critical ones, to which there are more and more answers.” – Erik Steinfelder, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Targeted treatment

A man comes to the doctor. He explains his complaints, the doctor makes a diagnosis and prescribes him medication. A month later the man returns to tell him how he is doing. Are the complaints not gone yet? Then other paths are taken until a solution is found. But what if the GP already has certain knowledge of the man? That his DNA shows that certain treatments will have little or no effect anyway? “This way you can treat much more specifically, reach a solution more quickly and reduce side effects.”

Personalized medicine

This future vision is called 'personalized medicine' and biobanks are a crucial part of this. “The foundation for this has already been laid: the samples are in the cold stores and the legal and ethical hurdles have largely been overcome. The next step is to analyze biomaterial and translate it into treatments. We will see more and more of this in the future.”

Discover trends

The large-scale collection of biomaterial takes place in several countries. “Estonia, for example, has asked a large part of the population to donate material. As a result, people have already been called with the news that they should have themselves further examined, because there are signs of a certain diagnosis.” Collecting DNA is good for more things. “The goal is to discover trends and patterns. An example of this is smoking. Nowadays, more and more people are developing lung cancer who have never smoked. With the help of DNA and research on blood and tissue from patients, it is discovered how this is possible and which gene patterns are related to it. This information can also be used to say something about the best therapy or treatment. That knowledge is extremely valuable for society.”

How do we get there?

“Biobanks are getting bigger,” Steinfelder continues. “Make use of it and don't be frightened by the legal and ethical hurdles. Embrace them, come up with solutions for them and see what is possible. Together we must balance the interests of hospitals, patient organizations and the business community. Everyone must work together and not avoid the conversation.”

Dive deeper into the world of biobanks with Erik Steinfelder.

Watch his webinar