Danish National Biobank

What Danish National Biobank does

The Danish National Biobank (DNB) is a public-sector national research infrastructure operated as a division of the Statens Serum Institut (SSI), a Danish government health authority. It serves academic researchers, clinicians, and qualified commercial entities by providing access to biological samples and associated registry data sourced from the Danish population. The biobank directly holds more than 12 million physical samples collected with consent from approximately 5.9 million Danish residents, with sample histories extending back to the 1970s and including newborn dried blood spot (PKU) cards collected since 1982.

The platform rests on three operational pillars: a physical storage and processing facility, the Danish Biobank Register (a web-based catalogue that links each sample to Danish national health, patient, and cause-of-death registers), and a Coordinating Centre that manages researcher access and related services. Across the broader Danish Biobank Register network, 11 affiliated biobanks collectively expose 27.4 million catalogued samples to qualified researchers. Sample processing is standardized via eight Hamilton STAR liquid-handling robots, with continued automated expansion of capacity and an inflow of more than one million new samples per year.

Historically financed through national budget appropriation, DNB shifted to a hybrid funding model in January 2026 by introducing user fees for sample access, with DKK-denominated per-project tiers and per-sample fees. An equal-access principle governs sample allocation across applicants, and foreign researchers must collaborate with a Danish-affiliated institution to obtain access. Communication, including podcast outreach (Når Generne Taler) and proactive 2024 citizen notification letters regarding sample use, complements the technical service offering.

Name

Danish National Biobank

Legal name

Danish National Biobank

Website

https://danishnationalbiobank.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Public-sector national research infrastructure operated by the Statens Serum Institut, providing academic, clinical, and commercial researchers access to over 12 million physical biological samples directly and 27.4 million samples across 11 affiliated biobanks linked to Danish national health registers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biobanking Services

NAICS

Medical Laboratories (621511), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Newborn Screening & Genetic Public Health Laboratories (HLAJAIAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Molecular Diagnostics & Genomics Laboratories (HLAFAMAE)

Keywords

• Biological sample storage
• Biobank registry services
• DNA extraction services
• Research sample access
• Epidemiological research infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Copenhagen

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. National Budget Appropriation: The operation of the Danish National Biobank is primarily financed by a national budget appropriation as a public authority function of Statens Serum Institut.
2. User Fees for Sample Access: As per January 1st 2026, access to samples from DNB is associated with user fees. This includes startup fees for submission and withdrawal projects, per-box storage fees, per-sample withdrawal fees, and DNA extraction fees. Additional costs may apply for aliquoting or transportation services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Danish National Biobank (DNB) stores and provides researchers access to more than 12 million physical biological samples (including serum, plasma, whole blood, DNA, dried blood spots, urine, and saliva) collected through the Danish health system and research projects. It operates the Danish Biobank Register — a national search system aggregating data on 27.4 million samples from 5.9 million Danes across 11 participating biobanks — and a Coordinating Centre that advises researchers on sample selection, ethics approval, and application procedures. Samples can be linked to Danish national health and administrative registers for epidemiological and genomic research.

Product overview

The Danish National Biobank is a unified biobanking platform consisting of three pillars: (1) the Danish Biobank Register, a searchable database aggregating sample information from participating Danish biobanks; (2) the biological sample storage facility holding over 12 million physical samples at SSI; and (3) the Coordinating Centre providing administrative support and advisory services to researchers. Additional services include biological assays performed via automated Hamilton STAR robots, DNA purification, and an educational podcast series. The platform enables researchers to access samples and link them to Danish national health registries for research purposes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Danish Biobank Register A national database providing researchers with an overview of biological material from Danish biobanks, containing information on 27.4 million biological samples from 5.9 million Danes, with the ability to link sample data to disease codes and demographic information from national administrative registers. It is intended for academic and commercial life science researchers.
• Biological Sample Storage Storage and retrieval of more than 12 million biological samples including serum, plasma, whole blood, DNA, dried blood spots, urine, saliva, and other sample types, collected through Danish health services and research projects. Available to researchers via the DNB application process and to external institutions for outsourced storage.
• Coordinating Centre Services An advisory and liaison service that bridges biobank storage, the Danish Biobank Register, laboratory processing, and research partners, providing day-to-day operational guidance, sample-advice consultation, and research-environment support to Danish and international researchers and external biobanks.
• Biological Assays and DNA Extraction High-throughput laboratory services using 8 Hamilton STAR robots, including DNA extraction from whole blood and buffy coat (up to 1200 samples per day), DNA concentration determination and normalization, and biochemical and immunological assays. Provided to approved researchers as part of the DNB sample-access workflow.

Quantifiable outcome

• DNA extraction capacity up to 1200 samples per day using automated Hamilton STAR robots
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Danish National Birth CohortcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor biobank participant in the Danish Biobank Register collaboration. Provides more than 600,000 samples from pregnant mothers and their children, including DNA from approximately 90,000 mothers and 60,000 children.
• Capital Region of Denmark BiobankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipating biobank contributing samples to the Danish Biobank Register. Collects 50,000 samples annually.
• Danish Cancer Society - Diet, Cancer and HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerContributing biobank with samples from 57,000 cohort participants in the Diet, Cancer and Health study and its Next Generations extension.
• PatobankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational pathology biobank participating in the Danish Biobank Register, containing more than 17 million tissue samples from national hospitals.
• COPSAC (Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPediatric biobank participating in the Danish Biobank Register, focused on studies involving children with asthma.
• DD2 (Danish Diabetes Database for Pediatrics)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerBiobank participating in the Danish Biobank Register focused on Type 2 diabetes research.
• The Danish Blood Donor StudysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch biobank participating in the Danish Biobank Register, studying why blood donors are healthier than the average population.
• Danish Cancer BiobanksecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipating biobank providing blood and tissue samples from Danish cancer patients.
• Region Zealand BiobanksecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional biobank participating in the Danish Biobank Register, containing Næstved and Lolland-Falster population cohorts.
• The Danish Twin RegistrycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe oldest national twin register in the world participating in the Danish Biobank Register, containing information on 86,000 twin pairs.
• PERSIMUNE BiobanksecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerBiobank participating in the Danish Biobank Register with more than 50,000 samples collected on patients with impaired immune function.
• SSI Department of Epidemiology ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Coordinating Centre works closely with researchers and biostatisticians at SSI's Department of Epidemiology Research, drawing on their expertise in database handling, SNP- and sequence data analysis to create a strong research environment.
• CopLab - Copenhagen Primary Care Laboratory DatabasecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerData integration partner whose database of 176 million test results from 1.3 million individuals (2000-2015) can be linked to samples in the Danish Biobank Register.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Hamilton Company: Supplier of the Hamilton STAR liquid handling robots that DNB uses for high-throughput DNA extraction. Related as a key technology provider / vendor enabling DNB's automation capacity rather than a direct competitor.

Direct peers

• BioBank Japan: Large-scale Japanese national biobank collecting DNA and clinical data from ~200,000 patients across 47 diseases. Directly comparable as a national-scale disease-focused biobank providing samples and clinical data to academic and commercial researchers.
• UK Biobank: National population biobank providing researchers access to ~500,000 participants' biological samples linked to extensive health records. UK Biobank is the most directly comparable peer given its similar mandate of large-scale sample storage with longitudinal health data linkage for academic and commercial research.
• deCODE Genetics: Iceland-based population genetics company (subsidiary of Amgen) that has genotyped a large proportion of the Icelandic population with linked genealogical and health records. Comparable to DNB as a national-scale population genetics resource operating in a small country with comprehensive register linkage.
• FinnGen: Public-private Finnish biobank research project leveraging national health registers and biobanked samples for genomic discovery. Highly comparable to DNB in combining national register data with biobanked samples under a coordinated national research infrastructure.
• Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg (IBBL): Public-private biobank in Luxembourg providing sample storage, processing, and distribution services to academic and commercial researchers. Comparable to DNB as a smaller-country national biobank offering fee-based sample management and research services.
• Estonian Biobank (Estonian Genome Centre): National population biobank at the University of Tartu covering ~20% of Estonia's population with linked health records and genotyping. Directly comparable to DNB as a small-country national biobank with deep phenotypic linkage and a focus on genomic research.

Broad incumbents

• Azenta Life Sciences (formerly Brooks Life Sciences): Commercial provider of sample storage, biobanking services, and genomic analysis solutions serving pharma and academic customers. Comparable as a competing biobanking infrastructure provider but operates commercially across many countries rather than as a national research resource.
• NIH All of Us Research Program: U.S. National Institutes of Health program building a longitudinal cohort of 1M+ participants with biospecimens, EHR data, and genomic data. Comparable to DNB as a national-scale population biobank, but operates at much greater scale with multi-ancestry recruitment and a broader scope.

Regional players

• Karolinska Institutet / Swedish National Biobank infrastructure: Swedish biobanking infrastructure coordinated through Karolinska Institutet and Biobank Sweden. Comparable as a Nordic peer operating national-scale sample storage and access programs for research, though organized through a more decentralized model than DNB.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/danish-national-biobank

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Danish National Biobank