Hong Kong's biobank receives int'l accreditation

HONG KONG, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)'s Faculty of Medicine (CU Medicine) on Monday announced that its CU-Med Biobank has received international accreditation, noting the achievement is expected to help Hong Kong become a key regional hub of biomedical research.

The CU-Med Biobank set up in 2019 recently received international accreditation from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), which is an endorsement of its high standards, the CUHK said in a statement.

Together with one in South Korea, the CU-Med Biobank is one of only two biobanks that fulfil the required international standards in the Asia-Pacific region, according to it.

The CU-Med Biobank will be a driving force for the development of biomedicine in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and lead Hong Kong to become an important biomedical research hub in the region, said the CUHK.

According to it, to develop new drugs or pioneer new diagnostic technologies requires both software and hardware, and one prerequisite is possessing of a biobank.

Francis Chan, dean of medicine and head of the Steering Committee of CU-Med Biobank at CU Medicine, said that the standard of biobanking determines not only the quality of academic research but also the potential capability for new drug development.

"Our achievement can help attract collaborations from top global scientific research teams and multinational pharmaceutical companies. This international accreditation will provide CU Medicine with valuable credibility that will allow us to work with Hong Kong's Hospital Authority and transform Hong Kong into the hub for research and new drug development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," Chan said.

The CU-Med Biobank was built at the Prince of Wales Hospital of Hong Kong. A biobank is an essential facility for the systematic storage of clinical data and bio-specimens, which includes a set of strict management systems for handling diverse biological samples and precise multi-omics analysis.