How Biorepositories Can Become More Self-Sustaining

In a recent survey of 456 biobanks, 71% of respondents were concerned about funding shortfalls, and 37% identified funding as their single greatest challenge. Biorepositories across academic institutions and integrated health systems often face the dual pressures of underutilized biospecimens and limited financial resources. Maintaining a biobank is resource-intensive, and traditional methods for sharing biospecimens are often inefficient. When valuable samples go unused, it’s not just funding that is lost - it’s a missed opportunity to support critical life science research.

Automated Matching for Efficient Specimen Exchange

Currently, there is a gap in efficient linking of researchers with the specific biospecimens and data they require. By eliminating manual outreach and administrative overhead, biobanks can reallocate efforts toward advancing institutional research goals. Researchers can gain timely access to high-value biospecimens, while biobank providers are able to place samples into impactful studies without unnecessary delays. Specie Bio’s BioExchange is powered by an AI-driven deep matching engine that quickly and efficiently automates this matchmaking process. 

Expanding Visibility to Accelerate Research 

Expanding visibility to inventory is beneficial for the sustainability of biobanks because it addresses the critical challenge of underutilized samples, enhances operational efficiency through better resource allocation and fosters researcher engagement, all the while improving biobanks’ financial viability. 

By supporting research across diagnostics, therapeutics, AI, and discovery science and with millions of biospecimens and linked multimodal clinical data, Specie Bio’s platform enables provider partners to maximize the reach and utility of their collections. Each successful match contributes to high-impact research, ensuring samples fulfill their scientific potential rather than remaining in storage. This expanded visibility drives both scientific and institutional value for provider partners. 

Turning Samples into Sustainable Funding

Beyond operational efficiency, our provider partners have used BioExchange to recoup 50-100% of their annual biobank operating budgets. By enabling cost recovery and sponsored research support, our platform transforms biobanks from cost centers into self-sustaining contributors to the broader research community. This financial return supports long-term viability and allows for reinvestment into ongoing initiatives.

“Given the potential cutbacks in indirect funding we are hearing about in the news, this potential funding is all the more important for our operations! Thank you! ”
- Director, Biorepository Provider Partner 

Enforcing Privacy, Security and Transparency

To enable responsible exchange of biospecimens and associated clinical data, it is critical to address data privacy and security. This includes standardizing and, where possible, automating the process of determining who should have access to what information and consistently enforcing that. Our BioExchange platform implements technical controls, ensures traceability and follows security best practices in order to be responsible stewards of our Providers' data. In addition, being transparent in capturing and sharing research intent for samples and data and facilitating a direct provider-to-researcher transfer framework supports integrity of sample and data provenance and promotes transparency.

Join A Trusted Global Network

By joining Specie Bio’s expanding network of biobanks, hospitals, and research institutions, provider partners gain access to a wide pool of life science research projects. This collaborative ecosystem enhances specimen utilization and fosters partnerships that align with institutional goals. Provider partners retain full control over data sharing and researcher engagement, ensuring transparency and trust at every step. Through a collaborative and transparent exchange model, our platform helps academic and nonprofit institutions fulfill their mission to advance scientific discovery. No valuable sample should go unused. 

Join the BioExchange movement and help shape a more connected, sustainable future for biobanking.