BIOBANK der Blutspender

What BIOBANK der Blutspender does

BIOBANK der Blutspender is a non-profit biobank division of the Blutspendedienst des Bayerischen Roten Kreuzes gGmbH (Bavarian Red Cross Blood Donor Service), founded in 2006 and headquartered in Munich, Germany. It operates one of the world's largest plasma biobanks, holding over 3 million stored samples from a representative population base of more than 400,000 active Bavarian blood donors, with approximately 2,000 new samples added per working day. Its distinguishing technical capability is the provision of pre-diagnostic serial plasma samples—an average of two samples per donor per year, going back up to seven years before diagnosis—enabling retrospective biomarker research for disease onset and progression that is difficult to obtain from any other source.

The organization processes all samples under pharmaceutical GMP and CLIA standards, with qualified personnel and fully automated cold-chain storage at -42°C (general) and -80°C (high-value reference samples). Its product portfolio comprises the core biobank sample repository, PlasmaRef standardized reference panels (population cross-sections and age/gender-specific subsets), serial pre-diagnostic plasma samples, and prospective/screening study services capable of recruiting tens of thousands of donors for specific disease investigations.

Revenue is generated through individually priced fee-for-service contracts with academic and industrial research partners, including Helmholtz Zentrum München, Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie, multiple German universities, and biotech firms such as Metanomics Health, Protagen AG, Oryzon Genomics, and Preventis. As a non-profit, the entity reinvests surplus revenues into donor health services and disease prevention programs. No public financials are disclosed, and the parent entity is the Bavarian Red Cross, a government-affiliated state organization.

Name

BIOBANK der Blutspender

Legal name

Blutspendedienst des Bayerischen Roten Kreuzes gemeinnützige GmbH

Website

https://bio-bank.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Short description

BIOBANK der Blutspender operates a non-profit plasma biobank division of the Bavarian Red Cross, holding 3M+ samples from 400,000+ donors. It supplies pre-diagnostic serial plasma samples, GMP reference panels, and prospective study services to academic and industrial biomedical research partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biobanking Services

NAICS

Blood and Organ Banks (621991), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

Cell & Tissue Banking (biobanking, cord blood/tissue) (HLAAAGAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Transfusion Medicine & Immunohematology (Blood Bank) (HLAFAMAG), Blood Bank, Transfusion Medicine & Immunohematology (HLAHAAAH), Proteomics & Biomarker Analytical Testing (HLAGADAG), Plasma Collection & Donor Services (Plasmapheresis Centers) (HLAIAHAH)

Keywords

• Biobanking services
• Plasma sample storage
• Biomarker research samples
• Blood donor biobank
• Pre-diagnostic samples

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Fee-for-Service Sample Provision: Fee-for-service contracts with academic and industrial research partners for the provision of plasma samples and data. Prices are calculated individually for each project based on samples and data requested and the efforts involved. Any excess revenues are reinvested in health services for blood donors with focus on disease prevention.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

BIOBANK der Blutspender operates the world's first blood donor-based biobank, providing pre-diagnostic serial plasma samples, standardized reference panels, and prospective screening study capabilities to academic and industrial research partners. The biobank contains over 3 million plasma samples from 400,000+ active Bavarian blood donors, processed under pharmaceutical GMP and CLIA standards.

Product overview

BIOBANK der Blutspender operates as a biobank platform providing biological samples for biomedical research. The core offering is the main BIOBANK containing over 3 million plasma samples from 400,000+ active Bavarian blood donors. The portfolio includes PlasmaRef Panels (standardized reference panels of healthy donor plasma for diagnostic test development), serial pre-diagnostic plasma samples (enabling retrospective biomarker studies before disease manifestation), and prospective/screening study services. All samples are processed under GMP conditions with qualified personnel, stored in automated cold facilities at -42°C or -80°C.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BIOBANK der Blutspender (Main Biobank)

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 60,000 blood donors screened for diabetes risk in a single study, identifying approximately 10,000 high-risk individuals and several hundred with previously undiagnosed diabetes.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Bayerische ForschungsstiftungcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Funded the diabetes study where more than 60,000 blood donors were screened for diabetes risk using a three-step testing procedure. Pro-diagnostic BIOBANK samples were analyzed by research partners to identify new biomarkers and develop new test methods for diabetes early diagnosis.
• Helmholtz Zentrum MünchencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitut für Epidemiologie research partner collaborating on health studies and epidemiological research using BIOBANK samples.
• Universität RegensburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLehrstuhl für Biophysik research partner conducting biophysical research using BIOBANK samples.
• Klinikum der Ludwig Maximilians-Universität MünchencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiabetes Zentrum research partner conducting diabetes research using BIOBANK samples and data.
• Max-Planck-Institut für BiochemiecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner conducting biochemistry research using BIOBANK samples.
• Metanomics Health GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustrial biotechnology partner conducting biomarker research using BIOBANK samples.
• TOPLAB GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerApplied biotechnology partner conducting research using BIOBANK samples.
• LipoFIT Analytic GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLipid analysis partner conducting research using BIOBANK samples.
• Protagen AGcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBiotechnology partner conducting biomarker and diagnostics research using BIOBANK samples.
• Oryzon genomics S.A.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGenomics research partner conducting research using BIOBANK samples.
• Preventis GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiagnostics development partner conducting research using BIOBANK samples.
• GNA BiosolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiagnostic technology partner conducting research using BIOBANK samples.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• BioIVT: Commercial supplier of human biospecimens (including plasma) and research services to pharma, diagnostics and academic customers. Comparable as a fee-for-service plasma/serum provider but operating as a for-profit, multi-region commercial vendor.
• Tissue Solutions: Commercial biospecimen provider offering human tissue, plasma and biofluids to research and pharma clients. Comparable as a fee-for-service biobank/BSP model serving academic and industry drug-development pipelines.

Direct peers

• UK Biobank: Large-scale population biobank providing de-identified biological samples and health data to approved researchers globally. Directly comparable to BIOBANK in serving academic and industry research customers with longitudinal samples, though at a national-UK scale with broader consent.
• Estonian Biobank (University of Tartu): Population-based biobank linking genomic and health-record data for over 200,000 participants, widely used by pharma and academic researchers. Directly comparable to BIOBANK's model of pairing donor samples with health data for research partnerships.
• Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg (IBBL): Not-for-profit biobank dedicated to biospecimen storage, processing and distribution for academic and industry researchers in Europe. Closely comparable in mission, GMP-style quality standards, and European academic/industry customer base.
• Biobank Graz: Austria-based university biobank providing high-quality, processed human samples under standardized conditions to research partners. Comparable as a Central European academic-hospital-affiliated biobank serving cross-indication research.
• FinnGen / Finnish Biobanks: Network of Finnish biobanks providing genetic and biomarker data on a population-representative cohort for industry and academic research. Comparable as a population-scale sample provider leveraging a national donor base for biomedical discovery.
• deCODE genetics (Amgen): Iceland-based population genetics and biobanking company (now an Amgen subsidiary) providing whole-genome and plasma resources for drug discovery. Comparable as a population-scale sample provider focused on biomarker and drug-target research.

Regional players

• LifeGene (Sweden): Swedish population-based biobank infrastructure collecting samples and health data from a representative cohort. Comparable concept (population-representative biobank for research) but serving a different Nordic geography.
• Charité Biobank Berlin: Large German academic-hospital biobank providing high-quality human samples for translational research. Comparable in mission and German healthcare-research setting, though anchored to a Berlin-based hospital network rather than Bavaria.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BIOBANK der Blutspender