Rockville, MD, September 28, 2016 –Aeras, a nonprofit research and development organization dedicated to the development of new TB vaccines, has launched the AerasSHARE Biorepository, a new website to allow researchers from other organizations to access specimens and datasets that were collected by Aeras and its research partners in an effort to facilitate state-of-the-art TB vaccine related science and promote world-wide collaboration among TB vaccine researchers.
The AerasShare Biorepository includes specimens of blood drawn from volunteers in a number of clinical trials, as allowed by the participant agreements. The samples, which are stored at Aeras’s headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, and at sites in Africa near where the trials were conducted, will be sent to researchers whose requests have been approved by the Biorepository Oversight Committee (BOC).
“As a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, Aeras is dedicated to promoting collaboration with researchers around the world to speed the development of new, improved TB vaccines,” said Aeras CEO Jacqueline E. Shea, PhD. “TB causes more deaths globally than any other single pathogen and the world urgently needs a new vaccine.”
TB is a global epidemic which kills more people than any other single infectious agent, with 1.5 million deaths and 9.6 million new cases in 2014. Experts agree that new vaccines are critical to ending the epidemic in the next 15 – 20 years as targeted by the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and the World Health Organization.
Researchers who wish to access specimens or datasets can submit a request on the AerasSHARE Biorepository website at bioshare.aeras.org. The site is governed by a charter that provides general principles for the management and good governance of the repository to ensure that the interests of donors and all other stakeholders are safeguarded. Each participating study will have a BOC or a previously established governing body to ensure compliance with biorepository management best practices and provide peer-review of submitted proposals for specimens and datasets. Researchers can track the process on the website.
Specimens and datasets are provided at no cost to researchers, but requestors are responsible for the actual shipping and handling costs and any costs related to special processing required. The program does not provide research funding.
Aeras is grateful to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for sharing its BioLINCC Program, after which the AerasSHARE Biorepository was modelled.
About AerasSHARE Biorepository
The AerasSHARE Biorepository is a website created by Aeras to facilitate TB vaccine-related research and promote worldwide collaboration among TB vaccine researchers by providing access to specimens and datasets collected by Aeras and its partners, as allowed by patient consent.
About Aeras
Aeras is a nonprofit, research and development organization advancing the development of new tuberculosis vaccines for the world, in partnership with other biotech, pharmaceutical, and academic organizations. Aeras has 90 employees from over 20 countries around the world, and has offices in the U.S., Africa, and Asia. Aeras is primarily funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), and other parties committed to ending the TB epidemic. We also receive support from the U.S. government, and through partnerships and collaborations with universities and pharmaceutical companies around the world.
Source: Aeras