The University of Manchester has been awarded €5 million (£4 million) in EU funding for a major pan-European biobank project.

Researchers at the university will work with scientists in other EU countries to plan how DNA and other biological samples can be stored and made available to biotech professionals across Europe.

This new Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure will effectively connect biobanks across Europe.

The University of Manchester's Dr Martin Yuille said the European biobanking infrastructure is as important to biomedical science as Jodrell Bank is to astronomy.

"It will counter fragmentation in Europe that is impeding access to valuable resources essential for translating the human genome sequence into health benefits," he added.

Last month, scientists at the university were given £700,000 by the Medical Research Council to develop a new therapy that combats drug-resistant tuberculosis.