Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, an international research-driven pharma company, and Eurofins Medigenomix GmbH, a competence center for genetic analyses of the Eurofins Scientific Group, concluded a long-term service agreement in the area of DNA banking, as well as a master service agreement for pharmacogenetic and pharmacogenomic services. For DNA banking Eurofins Medigenomix is supporting operations of Boehringer Ingelheim's central DNA bank at Biberach an der Riss.
Within the scope of clinical phase I-IV studies, which Boehringer Ingelheim is conducting worldwide in its different therapy areas, blood samples are collected for DNA banking purposes. On behalf of Boehringer Ingelheim many thousands of blood samples per year will be processed at Eurofins Medigenomix using a fully automated robot-based system: In this automated process genomic DNA is extracted from blood samples. DNA samples then are normalized and aliquoted into plates. Subsequently, plates with DNA samples are shipped back from Eurofins Medigenomix to Boehringer Ingelheim. Upon receipt at Biberach DNA samples will be stored frozen in the fully automated DNA bank with a storage capacity of several millions of samples. In the area of pharmacogenetics / pharmacogenomics Eurofins Medigenomix will support
Boehringer Ingelheim's Pharmacogenomics Unit in analyses of stored samples from the central DNA bank, e.g. in genotyping, as well as in analyses which shall be performed in the scope of clinical studies. Both services, later analyses of stored DNA samples and parallel analyses of samples coming from global clinical trials, support Boehringer Ingelheim's research and development activities and make a contribution to the development of effective and safe drugs.
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