International Genomics Consortium Licenses Sapphire Biobanking Solution

The International Genomics Consortium (IGC; Phoenix, AZ, USA) has licenced LabVantage Solutions, Inc (Bridgewater, NJ, USA) Sapphire BioBanking Solution. The IGC chose Sapphire because of its product maturity, functionality, architecture, scalability, and flexibility.

A zero-footprint laboratory-information management suite, Sapphire is designed to manage an organization's critical laboratory information across worldwide operations, to optimize productivity, and more effectively share knowledge. The Sapphire BioBanking Solution ensures that standard procedures are used for all steps in the biorepository management process. Key processes supported include: informed consent, clinical data collection, sample collection, pathology review, biomolecule extractions, quality control, laboratory data collection, and biomolecule distribution.

A non-profit foundation, the IGC was established to expand upon the discoveries of the Human Genome Project and other systematic sequencing efforts by combining diagnostic technologies, genomic research, and bioinformatics, in the fight against cancer and other complex genetic diseases. The foundation has a number of functions including: standardization of the collection of properly consented tissues of interest, molecular characterization of these tissues, and standardization in the representation of these results. The IGC facilitates the transition of genomic discoveries to improve patient care and increase the speed in which new diagnostic, prognostic and predictive testing, and new drug and treatment regimens are developed.

The [U.S.] National Cancer Institute (NCI; Bethesda, MD, USA) and the [U.S.] National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI; Bethesda, MD) chose the IGC to lead the Human Cancer Biospecimen Core Resource (BCR) component of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) pilot project. The Sapphire BioBanking Solution will serve as a key informatics backbone supporting and maintaining the BCR.

"In order for the IGC to successfully implement the Human Cancer Biospecimen Core Resource we needed a biospecimen management solution that was functionally rich and capable of being implemented rapidly,” stated Troy Shelton, IGC project administrator for TCGA. "Among the software solutions we evaluated, LabVantage's Sapphire BioBanking Solution offered true out-of–the-box functionality and was by far the most well-established and premier solution used by peers in the industry.”


Related Links:
International Genomics Consortium
LabVantage Solutions
National Cancer Institute