Full Data Release of 'National Bio Big Data Pilot Project'... 25,000 Participants' Data

The Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced on the 19th that they will fully open research resources for 25,000 individuals starting at the end of this month, following the conclusion of the pilot project conducted prior to the establishment of the '1 Million Bio Data'.

The national bio big data pilot project, implemented from 2020 to last year, was promoted to establish a system for utilizing digital healthcare technology development (R&D) by integrating clinical and genomic data to realize personalized and advanced medical care. During this period, the participating ministries and institutions collected research resources for approximately 25,000 individuals.

This opening of bio big data resources is a follow-up measure to the 'Advanced Industry Global Cluster Development Plan' jointly prepared by related ministries earlier this month. The research resources being opened include a newly collected rare disease patient database through the pilot project (accumulated clinical, genetic information, and human-derived materials for 14,905 individuals) and clinical and genomic data databases donated from previous general research projects (accumulated data for 9,797 individuals).

Exterior view of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. [Photo by Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency]

Researchers wishing to receive research resources must apply for resource provision through the National Institute of Health’s National Central Human Bioresource Bank, and can receive them after review by the National Central Human Bioresource Bank Distribution Committee.

Jiyoungmi, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said, "This pilot project is a meaningful case of sharing data that was previously kept in researchers’ drawers for research purposes through the human bioresource bank, and I thank the rare disease cooperative hospitals and data-donating researchers who contributed to spreading the culture of bio big data sharing," adding, "Based on the achievements of the pilot project, from 2024 we will accelerate the establishment of a Korean-style bio big data of 1 million scale and actively support technology development in the digital health market to secure global competitiveness."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.