The institutional event dedicated to the presentation of Marche BioBank was held in Ancona at the Montessori Auditorium of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the Università Politecnica delle Marche. Marche BioBank is the first biobank in the Marche region focused on rare diseases and serves as a pilot node of the National Precision Care Center promoted by the Heal Italia Foundation.
Entitled “Workshops for Precision Medicine: Marche BioBank – Development and Perspectives of the National Precision Care Center for Rare Diseases”, the event provided an important forum for dialogue among citizens, institutions, the scientific community, the healthcare system, and industry, outlining new scenarios for regional and national healthcare based on Precision Medicine.
The meeting was coordinated by the scientific leads Gianluca Moroncini, Director of the Department of Clinical and Molecular Sciences at Università Politecnica delle Marche, President of the Board of Marche BioBank and Scientific Representative of UnivPM for the Heal Italia Foundation, and Luisa Minghetti, Director of the Technical and Scientific Service for Research Coordination and Promotion at the Italian National Institute of Health and Coordinator of the Heal Italia Biobank Network.
During the event, the role of Marche BioBank in the collection, storage, and advanced characterization of biological samples from individuals affected by rare diseases was presented, highlighting its importance for the development of personalized care pathways. Particular emphasis was placed on the central contribution of the Heal Italia Foundation, an extended partnership funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), in promoting the systematic integration of Precision Medicine within the Italian National Health Service through an interconnected network of biobanks and associated laboratories.
The strategic value of biobanks as essential research infrastructures was further discussed, underlining their role in fostering collaboration among hospitals, universities, and public and private research centers, with a specific focus on addressing the unmet needs of people living with rare diseases.
The program included a scientific conference followed by a round table moderated by journalist Agnese Testadiferro, with contributions from Laura Leonardis and Mauro Piacentini, respectively Director General and Scientific Director of the Heal Italia Foundation, Annalisa Scopinaro, President of UNIAMO – the Italian Federation for Rare Diseases, as well as representatives from institutions, industry, and the healthcare sector.
The initiative confirmed the Marche region’s role as a leading area for the advancement of Precision Medicine, supported by strong collaboration among academia, healthcare institutions, research organizations, and the Heal Italia Foundation.