Biorepository and Specimen Management

You can trust us to preserve the integrity of your biospecimens for as long as you need to store them. Robust SOPs guide our operation and business continuity planning providing the highest standards of biological specimen preservation. Over the past year we accessioned more than five million testing specimens, added more than four million specimens to our biostorage facilities and shipped more than three million specimens to third parties on behalf of our customers.

Global Network — Co-located with our Central Labs

Our biorepositories are co-located with our global central laboratories in the United States, United Kingdom, China, India, Argentina, and Singapore. The specimen management process starts from the time we or another laboratory sends a visit specific specimen collection kit to an investigator site.  It then continues as the specimen is shipped from the investigator site to the laboratory. These test samples are then sent to a biorepository facility, like ours, for storage.

For worry-free specimen collection and processing, we take a proven approach to specimen handling and storage. We assure that sponsor requirements, best practices and study-specific protocols are harmonized across our global laboratory network. By applying the most up-to-date knowledge and our extensive experience to the continuous improvement of our global SOPs and staff training, we protect the integrity of your laboratory specimens in order to minimize pre-analytic variability.

We provide two main biostorage solutions. Our Central Laboratory customers rely on us for their short-term storage needs. During the life of a study we hold specimens in short-term storage and send them where sponsors need them to go, based on study requirements via scheduled and unscheduled (ad hoc) shipments. In addition, we provide long-term storage solutions for both our Central Laboratory customers and others.

We offer a broad range of biorepository services and technologies that are tailored to align with your protocol and storage needs. Currently, our network stores over 13M specimens globally. We routinely execute ~5,000 outbound shipments per month, with 40% of shipments sent in an ad hoc manner and 60% in a scheduled manner. Our teams regularly manage specimen discards in varying volumes from 1 to 200,000 specimens in a single request. 

Other facets of our offering include:

• More than 25 years of experience in centralized sample management and storage
• Global standard storage system
• Storage and tracking at multiple temperature levels: -20°c, -70°c, LN2 (Liquid and Vapor Phase), 2-8°c, 18-24°c (including desiccators)
• Continuous electronic temperature monitoring
• Freezer monitoring, utilizing automated, calibrated systems with appropriate alarms/alarm escalation
• Liquid nitrogen storage available globally
• Robust safety and security systems with 24-hour video surveillance
• Controlled access to biospecimen and freezer rooms
• 24-hour video surveillance
• Back-up generators with full load testing
• Twice daily physical sweeps to review/document all storage units
• Constant communication with database setup team to ensure proper biospecimen storage and process adherence
• 5% freezer redundancy
• Rapid response to any alarms to maintain biospecimen integrity
• Proactive, comprehensive edit checks upon receiving biospecimens
• Consultation and customized kits for biopsy transportation, receipt, storage and shipment
• Customized implementation to your specification