Medaffcon’s new cooperation project aims at better utilisation of biobank health data

Medaffcon is known in Finland as the forerunner of commercial biobank studies. Strong cooperation network with the actors in the field has enabled effective use of health data in different types of projects for the past two years. Today, the company fluently operates in both pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors.

“The opportunities in the utilisation of real-world data for scientific, healthcare and business development are unique in Finland, even on an international scale. The global pharmaceutical industry has already noticed the opportunities provided by Finnish biobanks and made cooperation agreements with them”, notes Scientific Advisor Maija Wolf.

With the help of the launched project, Medaffcon aims at accelerating the start of new biobank studies and at supporting the national harmonisation of biobank activities. During the project, an extensive biobank review, assessing the current operations of biobanks and their commercialisation possibilities, will be performed. In addition to Medaffcon, Finnish Biobank Cooperative and the University of Eastern Finland are involved in the project.

“The development of the operations of regional biobanks will hold a key position in the near future, in order to increase the critical mass provided by Finnish biobanks in terms of samples and health data connected to them. The collection of samples and data in a comprehensive manner from different hospital districts would significantly raise Finland’s international attractiveness and enable the review of regional differences with regard to e.g. prevalence, treatment practices and healthcare costs”, says Scientific Advisor Päivikki Hemmilä.

The project is tightly connected to Medaffcon’s new initiative on customized cancer care, which was launched in autumn 2017. The aim of the initiative is to combine information on the latest development in cancer treatment and to explore concrete examples and pilot efforts towards further customizing the cancer care in the future . The effort will provide up-to-date information for patients and actors in the field. Such an overall picture on the developing ecosystem, its various stakeholders and possibilities involved, has not been previously compiled in one place.

A special appendix of Helsingin Sanomat daily, published on 8^th of January 2018, discusses the effective use of health data and the possibilities it creates. Medaffcon is also mentioned in the article. Read the piece by clicking here!