Exclusive: 15 December 2024, New DelhiIndian Council of Medical Research ICMR and the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF) jointly launch the first-ever biobank for diabetes in India in Chennai. The hi-tech repository would focus on advancing research work for diabetes and related disorders in addition to being a critical resource to advance scientific studies on the Indian population.

Key Highlights:

What is Biobank?
A centralized repository conceived to bring together, process, store, and provide population-based biological samples like blood specimens.
The biobank would support scientific research with every activity approved and guided by ICMR.

Objective:

• Support high-end scientific studies on etiology, heterogeneity, and complications of diabetes in the Indian people.

Collaborating Institutes

• Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

• Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), Chennai

Key Features
Biobank comprises specimens of the two major ICMR-sponsored studies

ICMR-India Diabetes (ICMR-INDIAB) Study

• It has been performed in all states and Union Territories from 2008 to 2020.

Indian Registry of Young-Onset Diabetes

• It was initiated in the year 2006; it monitors Type 1, Type 2, and gestational diabetes among younger people and is active even today.

Importance:
It was conducted for examining the distinct Indian phenotype of diabetes.
It provides information on the possible genetic, environmental, and lifestyle variables responsible for the prevalence as well as heterogeneity of diabetes in the country.

Time to Establish:
This biobank process started two years back.

Leadership Perspective:
Chairman of MDRF and Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre, Dr. V. Mohan said that the biobank would play a pivotal role in improving the understanding and treatment of diabetes in India.
India is often referred to as the "diabetes capital of the world," with a growing burden of diabetes in millions. This biobank will be an important resource in understanding the complexity of diabetes in the Indian context and pave the way for targeted prevention, management, and treatment strategies.