title: Biospecimen User Fees: Global Feedback on a Calculator Tool.
abstract: The notion of attributing user fees to researchers for biospecimens provided by biobanks has been discussed frequently in the literature. However, the considerations around how to attribute the cost for these biospecimens and data have, until recently, not been well described. Common across most biobank disciplines are similar factors that influence user fees such as capital and operating costs, internal and external demand, and market competition. A biospecimen user fee calculator tool developed by CTRNet, a tumor biobank network, was published in 2014 and is accessible online at www.biobanking.org . The next year a survey was launched that tested the applicability of this user fee tool among a global health research biobank user base, including both cancer and noncancer biobanking. Participants were first asked to estimate user fee pricing for three hypothetical user scenarios based on their biobanking experience (estimated pricing) and then to calculate fees for the same scenarios using the calculator tool (calculated pricing). Results demonstrated variation in estimated pricing that was reduced by calculated pricing. These results are similar to those found in a similar previous study restricted to a group of Canadian tumor biobanks. We conclude that the use of a biospecimen user fee calculator contributes to reduced variation of user fees and for biobank groups (e.g., biobank networks), could become an important part of a harmonization strategy.
authors: 1 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Office of Biobank Education and Research (OBER), University of British Columbia , Vancouver, Canada .
authors: Lise A M
authors: LA
authors: Matzke
authors: 2 Tumour Tissue Repository (TTR), BC Cancer Agency , Vancouver Island Centre, Victoria, Canada .
authors: Sindy
authors: S
authors: Babinszky
authors: 1 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Office of Biobank Education and Research (OBER), University of British Columbia , Vancouver, Canada .
authors: Alex
authors: A
authors: Slotty
authors: 1 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Office of Biobank Education and Research (OBER), University of British Columbia , Vancouver, Canada .
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Meredith
authors: 2 Tumour Tissue Repository (TTR), BC Cancer Agency , Vancouver Island Centre, Victoria, Canada .
authors: Tania
authors: T
authors: Castillo-Pelayo
authors: 3 National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda, Maryland.
authors: Marianne K
authors: MK
authors: Henderson
authors: 4 Medservice, Walchwil, Switzerland .
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Simeon-Dubach
authors: 5 Canadian Tissue Repository Network, CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada .
authors: Brent
authors: B
authors: Schacter
authors: 1 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Office of Biobank Education and Research (OBER), University of British Columbia , Vancouver, Canada .|2 Tumour Tissue Repository (TTR), BC Cancer Agency , Vancouver Island Centre, Victoria, Canada .|5 Canadian Tissue Repository Network, CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada .
authors: Peter H
authors: PH
authors: Watson
mesh_terms: D018070:Biological Specimen Banks / Q000191:economics*; D003710:Demography; D005246:Feedback; D005249:Fees and Charges; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires