Switzerland
In Switzerland, many biobanks operate with heterogeneous processes, making the usability and comparability of samples challenging. Over the past decade, biobanking practices have greatly evolved, from individual collections of biological material to professional infrastructures. In 2013, the Swiss National Science Foundation launched a competitive call to establish a national biobanking platform, from which the Swiss Biobanking Platform (SBP) was selected by an international panel of experts.
Today, SBP serves as the national coordination platform for human and non-human biobanks, supporting biomedical and biological research by addressing questions around quality, visibility and the interoperability of biobanks and their associated data. More about BBMRI.ch.
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Areas of expertise
Quality and Practice Harmonisation: SBP supports biobanks through structured documentation and SBP Labels strategy, promoting compliance with legal, ethical and professional standards, including ISO 20387.
Interoperability and Visibility: SBP BIMS integrates standardised datasets to support interoperable data management, while NExT increases the access and visibility of biobanks and samples.
Education: SBP offers a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Biobanking to strengthen competencies across key biobanking domains.
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Achievements
SBP network expansion: The SBP network continued to grow and reached a significant milestone with the attribution of the 100th SBP Label. This reflects increasing national engagement and a strong commitment from Swiss biobanks to quality, harmonised practices and recognised standards.
First edition of the CAS: The first edition of the Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Biobanking was successfully completed, receiving very positive feedback from participants. Building on this success, a second edition was launched in January 2026.
International collaboration on quality and FAIR data: SBP secured a bilateral grant between Switzerland and the Czech Republic, strengthening collaboration on quality management and FAIR data principles and fostering good biobanking practices at the international level.
Achievements linked to calendar year 2025
National Node Director: Dr. Christine Joye
✉️ Email: christine.joye@swissbiobanking.ch
🔗 Web: https://swissbiobanking.ch