Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (OHFT) has secured a Human Tissue Authority (HTA) research licence for its Oxford BioStorage Service (BOSS), strengthening the infrastructure available to support NHS, academic and commercial research.
The licence was formally granted on 5 November 2026 to the NIHR Clinical Research Facility (CRF): Oxford Health. It provides the regulatory framework for BOSS to store relevant human material for research where an HTA licence is required.
BOSS is OHFT’s medium and long-term biosample storage service, based at CRF and hosted by OHFT at Warneford Hospital. The service provides secure storage and inventory management for human biological samples collected through approved research, with systems supporting sample tracking and traceability. By November 2026, BOSS had processed more than 23,000 samples.
Securing the licence follows a substantial programme of work across the CRF and OHFT R&D to establish the governance, quality systems, facilities, training and operational processes required to meet HTA standards.
The Human Tissue Authority regulates establishments that store and use human tissue for purposes including research in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The licensing assessment took place in October and included a virtual assessment and an on-site visit to the CRF.
Claudia Hurducas, Lead for Strategic Liaison, Deputy Head of R&D and CRF Manager, and Designated Individual for the licence, said:
“We’re really pleased to have reached this milestone. Obtaining the HTA licence has involved considerable work across the team to make sure we have the right governance, quality systems, facilities and processes in place.
“BOSS is an important part of the research infrastructure we are developing at Oxford Health. The licence gives us the regulatory framework to build on what we have already established and further develop the service to support high-quality research.
“This has been a genuine team effort, and I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to developing the service and to the application and assessment process.”
The licence marks an important next step for BOSS, supporting the continued development of the service and its work with NHS, academic and commercial research partners.
To find out more about Oxford BioStorage Service or discuss your research requirements, email: [email protected]
