Official UK procurement notice
Supply of Cryopreservation-Grade Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) Products
Authority: NHS Blood and Transplant (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is seeking to engage with suppliers and manufacturers of Dimethyl Sulphoxide (DMSO) used in the cryopreservation of stem cell and immunotherapy products.
The purpose of this preliminary market engagement is to improve NHSBT's understanding of the current market, available products, supply chain capabilities, packaging options, quality standards, innovation opportunities, and market capacity ahead of a potential future procurement exercise.
The requirement is expected to include sterile, pyrogen-free DMSO with a minimum purity of 99.9%, supplied in a range of formats including vials, bottles, bags and/or syringes suitable for use within NHSBT Cellular and Molecular Therapies laboratories. NHSBT is also interested in understanding supplier capabilities relating to quality assurance, business continuity arrangements, supply resilience, sustainability initiatives, and future product developments.
CPV: Laboratory reagents · Medical consumables · Pharmaceutical products
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How NHS Blood and Transplant buys Medical consumables (CPV 3314), and who usually turns up
NHS Blood and Transplant’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Medical consumables (CPV 3314) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside the delivery region.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 17 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
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How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid50%
2–340%
4–610%
7+0%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate46%
Within ±2%23%
Above estimate31%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 3314Published estimate£1.0m
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How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 47 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid11%
2–317%
4–623%
7+49%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MedHemScience BVLive contract | Supply of Cryopreservation Freezing Bagsruns to Mar 2029 | — | — | Matched as the earlier contract |
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 10 Aug 2026, 11:32 BST
- Last source update
- 10 Aug 2026, 11:32 BST
- Authority reference
C453179- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-075629- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06dfe3Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
10 Aug 2026 → 1 Feb 2027 · 4 dates- Planning notice published73 days ago10 Aug 2026, 11:32 BST
- Market engagement40 days ago11 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
Preliminary Market Engagement Notice (UK02)
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) intends to undertake a procurement exercise for the supply of Dimethyl Sulphoxide (DMSO) for use in the cryopreservation of stem cell and immunotherapy products across NHSBT Cellular and Molecular Therapies (CMT) laboratories.
NHSBT is seeking to engage with suppliers and manufacturers of DMSO products to improve its understanding of available solutions within the market, identify innovation opportunities, assess supplier capability, and inform the development of the procurement and specification requirements ahead of any future tender exercise.
Background
Cellular and Molecular Therapies (CMT), part of NHSBT's Cellular and Gene Therapies Directorate (CAGT), operates specialist laboratories located in Barnsley, Birmingham, Filton, Oxford and Southampton. These laboratories process, test, store and distribute cellular therapy products for transplantation and immunotherapy treatments. DMSO is used during the cryopreservation process to preserve cells during long-term storage at temperatures below -150°C.
Requirement Overview
NHSBT is interested in obtaining information from suppliers capable of providing DMSO products that meet the following indicative requirements:
Technical Requirements
- Sterile liquid DMSO ready for use.
- Pyrogen-free product.
- Minimum purity of 99.9%.
- Compliance with current European and/or United States Pharmacopoeia standards.
- UKCA or CE marked where applicable.
- Availability in:
o Vials or bottles (Lot 1); and/or
o Alternative containers such as bags or syringes suitable for sterile docking systems (Lot 2).
- Evidence that primary packaging materials are compatible with DMSO throughout the stated shelf life.
- Certificate of Analysis/Compliance supplied with each batch.
- Clear batch and expiry date labelling.
- Confirmation regarding DEHP content where applicable.
- Assurance that no animal-derived materials are used in manufacture and that there is no risk of cross-contamination.
Supply and Service Requirements
- Ability to maintain contingency stock equivalent to at least three months' NHSBT demand.
- Guaranteed supply continuity and delivery performance.
- Minimum six months' shelf life remaining upon delivery.
- Agreement to quality audits where required.
- Business continuity arrangements suitable for the supply of critical healthcare consumables.
- Robust product recall, complaint handling and adverse event management procedures.
- Ability to replace unsatisfactory stock within 24 hours where necessary
Areas for Market Engagement
NHSBT would welcome discussions with suppliers regarding:
- Available DMSO products and packaging formats.
- Manufacturing and quality assurance arrangements.
- Supply chain resilience and continuity of supply.
- Shelf-life optimisation.
- Environmental sustainability initiatives.
- Future product developments and innovations.
- Market capacity and opportunities to improve value for money.
Supplier Engagement
NHSBT intends to undertake preliminary market engagement activities between 24 August 2026 and 4 September 2026.
Engagement may take the form of:
- Virtual supplier meetings;
- Written questionnaires;
- Product presentations or demonstrations;
- Technical discussions; and/or
- Requests for further product and market information.
To enable NHSBT to finalise arrangements, interested organisations are requested to submit an expression of interest by email to [email protected] no later than 17:00 BST on 21 August 2026.
Expressions of interest should include:
- Organisation name.
- Contact details.
- Proposed attendees.
- Brief overview of relevant products and services.
- Product literature and/or company capability information.
Participation in this preliminary market engagement exercise will not influence any future procurement process and will not provide any supplier with an advantage in any subsequent competition. Information obtained during the engagement will be used solely to support NHSBT in developing its procurement strategy and refining its requirements.
Important Information
This notice is issued solely for the purpose of preliminary market engagement under the Procurement Act 2023.
No business whatsoever is guaranteed under any resulting contract or framework agreement, and there is no guarantee that a procurement process will be commenced following this notice. No compensation or reimbursement of costs will be paid to organisations participating in this market engagement exercise. Organisations participate entirely at their own cost and risk.
NHSBT reserves the right not to proceed with any procurement process following completion of the engagement activities.
Any future procurement may be available for use by NHS Blood and Transplant and other eligible contracting authorities where permitted. [Sample of...PIN draft | Word]
Contact Details
Sahithi Bandi
Commercial Manager
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT)
Expression of Interest Deadline: 21 August 2026, 17:00 BST
Planned Preliminary Market Engagement Period: 24 August 2026 to 4 September 2026.
- Tender notice expected20 days ago1 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 102 days1 Feb 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published10 Aug 2026, 11:32 BSTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender