Health Tuesday: Genomic Goldmine - How Finnish Biobanks Power Global R&D

With its distinctive genetic heritage and population structure, Finland offers unparalleled conditions for large-scale genomic research. This unique setting allows faster, more effective analysis compared to more genetically diverse populations - greatly increasing the potential for breakthrough discoveries.

Finnish Biobank Cooperative - FINBB coordinated biobanks now hold over 14 million samples, 500,000 of which are genotyped, along with pre-pooled patient cohorts available for recontact. These resources position FINBB biobanks among the world’s largest genome data repositories.

In this webinar, you'll gain insights into FINBB and Finland’s biobank ecosystem - including updates on regulatory developments in the era of the European Health Data Space (EHDS). You'll also hear concrete use cases of how global R&D teams are leveraging Finnish biobank samples and data via FINBB’s Fingenious service.

8:00-8:05 Opening words, Päivi Antila, Invest in Finland
8:05-8:30 Introduction to FINBB and biobanking in Finland, Tom Southerington, Chief Legal Officer, FINBB

• Finnish biobanks and FINBB
• Regulation
• What will change with EHDS

8:30-8:55 Fingenious service and use cases from pharma and biotech industry, Johanna Mäkelä, Director of Research and Services, FINBB

• Use case 1: collaboration with big pharma in oncology
• Use case 2: collaboration with AI company in immunology
• Use case 3: collaboration with start-up company in neurology

8:55-9:00 Closing words, Päivi Antila, Invest in Finland