Inking the deal allows members of the Academy for Medical Development & Collaboration (AMDeC), a consortium of biomedical research institutes, to leverage their collective buying power. This secures preferred pricing for AMDeC members and brings business to BioStorage.
"By offering our members discounted access to services provided by BioStorage, AMDeC is helping to significantly reduce monthly expenditures and investments in capital equipment and facilities that can rapidly escalate operating costs", said Maria Mitchell, president of AMDeC.
Prices offered to AMDeC members depend on the cumulative volume stored by the consortium. Savings of 30 to 55 per cent could be achieved by lowering monthly expenditures and cutting investments in facilities and equipment.
Services from BioStorage
BioStorage will conduct onsite audits of AMDeC members to assess their needs and create customised sample management strategies. Both outsourced and on-site systems will be used where appropriate.
Web-based tracking package Intelligent Specimen Inventory Storage System (ISISS) will support this work. BioStorage updated the proprietary system in January to improve search, customised reporting and sample tracking for its biopharm, academic and donor bank clients.
"The same expertise and care we use in managing millions of samples for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies will be applied to create sample management solutions for AMDeC members in the academic research setting”, said Lori Ball, chief operating officer at BioStorage.
AMDeC benefits
AMDeC has entered into collective buying deals with other companies, including NuGEN which provides sample preparation technology to members. Members of AMDeC also have use of an Agilent 6400 Series Triple Quadruple LC/MS system and RainDance Technologies RDT 1000.
Other benefits of the consortium include collaboration between the New York research institutions, some of which are involved in a recent Pfizer initiative, that make up the 22 members of AMDeC.