Procurement of SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Qualitative Tests (Self-Tests)

CPV: Diagnostic kits

Procedure method

Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition

Legal basis

CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)

Procurement category

Goods

Notice status

Awarded without competition

Procurement threshold

Unspecified in notice

Regulatory regime

Standard

Commercial structure

Stand-alone contract (no framework)

Competition type

Direct award (no call for competition)

GPA / WTO covered

Yes (GPA)

Recurring procurement

Unspecified in notice

First published

9 Apr 2021, 12:35 BST

Last source update

9 Apr 2021, 12:35 BST

FTS notice number

2021/S 000-007376

Classification (CPV)

Diagnostic kits

Delivery area

UK

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-02a441 Find a Tender

Why no open competition

The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator due to absence of competition for technical reasons

Published justification

1. On 11 March 2020 the World Health Organisation declared a COVID-19 pandemic with the associated serious risk posed to life. The UK Government’s response to the national emergency posed by COVID-19 includes the putting in place by it of arrangements for large-scale testing in respect of COVID-19. 2. As part of those arrangements, it needs to acquire products in order to implement the large-scale testing programme necessary to build a profile of the spread of COVID-19 and to prevent further loss of human life, to allow the population to return to work safely. Relevant to its procurement strategy is the efficient use of lateral flow test devices for self-use throughout the UK. 3. Accordingly the UK government will be fulfilling a significant volume of its overall requirement for home testing by using lateral flow devices developed by Innova. 4. DHSC is satisfied the relevant tests permitting use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication (Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii)) are met:a. The works, supplies or services can be supplied only by a particular economic operator as competition is absent for technical reasons: Innova are the only available supplier of home use lateral flow tests for COVID-19 as there is currently no other supplier whose COVID-19 tests are authorised by the relevant regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), for self-test use in the UK.b. No reasonable alternative or substitute exists: there is currently no other supplier of lateral flow devices that has MHRA authorisation for the self-test use needed to satisfy DHSC’s requirement. c. The absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing down of the parameters of the procurement: this procurement is part of a procurement strategy by the UK government to increase testing capacity to meet demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the country exits from lockdown.

• INNOVA MEDICAL GROUP INCAwarded supplier 800 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 288, Pasadena, US, CA 91101

No document links were published on the notice.