BIOCOST: A Costing Tool for Belgian Biobanks

Biobanks are essential infrastructures for biomedical research, yet their long-term sustainability is increasingly challenged by complex and often underestimated costs. While numerous cost-accounting approaches have been proposed over the past decade, comparable empirical data on real-world cost structures and pricing practices remain limited, particularly for academic biobanks operating under nonprofit and regulatory constraints.

To develop and validate a standardized cost visualization and calculation tool (BIOCOST), and to assess its managerial value, in view of sustainability, by applying it across multiple academic biobanks to identify dominant cost drivers, scale effects and discrepancies between calculated costs and real-world pricing.

The BIOCOST tool was developed based on existing frameworks and with input from six BBMRI.be biobanks. Costs are categorized into staffing, Biobank Information Management Systems, and sample storage and processing. The BIOCOST tool provided the basis for estimating total annual costs and cost per sample, corrected for biobank size and activity. Nine biobanks independently populated the tool using a standardized guidance document. Participating biobanks also reported current or intended pricing practices for internal and external users.

Total annual biobank costs ranged from €20,270 to €1.5 million, with staffing consistently representing the dominant cost driver. Annual costs per sample varied from €5.86 to €43.81, with higher per-sample costs observed in smaller biobanks, reflecting scale effects. Systematic discrepancies were identified between calculated costs and invoiced prices, particularly for internal biobank users who were frequently charged below costs. Reported pricing strategies revealed undercharging practices associated with hidden costs, institutional policies, and nonprofit constraints.

This multi-institutional case study illustrates biobank cost accounting under the Belgian context of strict regulatory and nonprofit constraints. The BIOCOST tool as a managerial instrument highlights substantial cost variability and the persistent gap between costing and pricing, underscoring the need for sustainable funding models.