Industry – friend or foe?
Biospecimens are essential for research both in the academic and industrial space. From the outside looking in, biobank/industrial partnerships appear a logical conclusion; Industry has financial resources and research infrastructure yet requires access to biological samples. Biobanks on the other hand have an abundance of biological resource, yet often struggle with financial stability and uncertain futures.
Industry partnerships across the biomedical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, veterinary and botanical sectors afford stability and increased visibility for biobanks while accelerating research findings leading to improved outcomes – but at what cost? Mismatches in practice, incongruent ideologies and concerns over the central precepts of custodianship, governance and consent all muddy the waters of collaboration and are exacerbated by the ever present pink elephant of commercial gain.
So is collaboration the source of mutual benefit or fraught with dichotomy?