Sweden launches massive heart failure biobank to unlock disease biology
Swedish researchers have integrated blood and urine samples from nearly 1,400 heart failure patients with genetic, protein, and clinical data—a move that could accelerate drug discovery and personalized treatment strategies. The biobank, linked to a national registry of 8,500+ patients, positions Sweden as a leader in precision cardiology research that pharmaceutical companies and diagnostics firms are watching closely.
Originaltitel: An integrated Biobank in the Swedish Heart Failure Registry-clinomics, proteomics, transcriptomics and genomics
<p>Aims To build a comprehensive biobank integrated in the Swedish Heart Failure Registry (SwedeHF) comprising comprehensive clinomic data, proteomic, transcriptomic and genomic information in combination with clinical and diagnostic characteristics and additional ICD-code registry data.Methods Blood and urine samples will be biobanked at SwedeHF registration with an optional second sampling after 6 months in patients with HF attending routine clinical visits at nine hospitals with access to healthcare integrated biobanking. Circulating and urine biomarkers will be investigated by proteomic, metabolomic, transcriptomic profiling, explored with genetic data. Sample size assessments were based on the BIOSTAT-CHF cohort and doubled to fulfil all aims targeting 5000 patients.Results The first 1348 enrolled patients were median 72 years, 30% females, 65% HFrEF and 11% HFpEF. Median NT-proBNP was 1240 (quartile 1-3; 470-2830) pg/mL. This was comparable to the 8506 patients with an index registration in SwedeHF during 2023 with 52% HFrEF and 20% HFpEF, age 75 years, 36% females and NT-proBNP 1560 [629-3617] pg/mL.Conclusions We are building a high-quality detailed biobank linked to SwedeHF, the world's largest continuous HF registry, consisting of plasma, serum, whole blood and urine samples. The Biobank will enable studies exploring underlying disease mechanisms in HF and response to HF treatment, paving the way for precision medicine and novel drug targets. It will also generate a structure for biobanking in Registry-based Randomized Controlled Trials within the national SwedeHF registry.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT06435585</p>