WCB Mission Statement
“To promote cancer research through leadership in the supply of biosamples, data and expertise to the international research community to drive innovation in Wales for the benefit of cancer patients globally.”
Wales Cancer Biobank has unveiled a comprehensive new strategy to drive future growth and innovation. This strategic roadmap, designed to enhance the organisation’s competitive edge and deliver exceptional value to stakeholders, underscores a commitment to efficiency, advancements in technology, and researcher-focused transformations.
Embracing Digital Transformation
The cancer research landscape is constantly changing, and with the advent of new technologies, capable of extracting increasingly large amounts of information from cancer tissue donated by patients; access to quality-assured samples for research is becoming more important than ever.
WCB is committed to ensuring that we respond to the evolving needs from researchers for these high-quality tissue samples with accompanying clinical and molecular data. To do this, our new Strategy Document outlines how we will work more closely with cancer researchers and the NHS providing expertise, data linkage and state-of-art practices that are delivered in a sustainable way for the future security of patient sample-related research.
Professor Richard Clarkson, WCB Scientific Director says: – “Our vision for cancer biobanking seeks a new way of working through partnership and collaboration. This will ensure that researchers get maximum benefit from our expertise, and that they have access to samples with a wider array of associated clinical and ‘-omic’ data.”
Commitment to Efficiency
WCB has some big plans to help the Biobank become more sustainable going forward while also meeting our remit of ensuring patient donated tissues contribute to future cancer research in the most effective ways possible. Outlined in our Strategy Document, we propose a new vision for cancer biobanking in Wales, one in which biobanking processes are embedded within NHS and academic infrastructures, engage directly with research projects and funders and maximises its cost recovery activity through lean working.
Professor Richard Adams, WCB Clinical Director adds: “A sustainable biobanking future requires a collaborative approach that brings together all stakeholders, avoiding repetition of work and the embedding of biobanking structures and expertise in to focused research projects. We are fortunate to work in Wales with a range of partners that we believe can see this vision and share our goal.”
Meeting Researcher Needs
Recognising the evolving needs of cancer researchers, Wales Cancer Biobank is placing a strong emphasis on streamlining sample and data acquisition. WCB plans to work directly with researchers, funders and stakeholders; transforming the existing biobanking model and expanding its reach to the cancer research community across the UK and internationally.
“A dedicated biobank infrastructure with the associated approvals and specialist staff allows researchers to focus on the science and not spend valuable time and resource on regulatory requirements, ethics approvals and sample and data collection.”
Investing in Talent and Innovation
To drive innovation and maintain its competitive edge, Wales Cancer Biobank is investing in talent development and fostering a culture of creativity. The organisation plans to launch various training programs and initiatives to nurture the skills of its workforce, share expertise with researchers, and encourage innovative thinking.
“WCB is committed to a restructuring process over the period 2025-2030 that will provide the operational framework to increase its capacity and capability for delivery of high-quality biosamples and data to researchers in a sustainable manner”
Conclusion
With a clear vision and a robust strategy in place, Wales Cancer Biobank is poised for a future of sustained growth and success. By embracing digital enhancements, committing to an integrated, sustainable model, and investing in talent and innovation, WCB will be well-equipped to navigate the challenges of the research landscape and continue delivering value to its stakeholders.
“The culmination of these changes will be a new working model of biobanking that truncates the pipeline between patient and researcher, whilst offering a portfolio of state-of-art information to accompany the biological samples.”
Read the new WCB Strategy Document here