Official UK procurement notice
Time-lapse Incubation and Imaging System
Authority: QE Facilities Ltd (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionEmbryoscope - Time Lapse Incubation and Imaging System
CPV: Biomedical equipment · Medical equipments
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1QE Facilities have a requirement to replace our existing Time-lapse Incubation and…
QE Facilities have a requirement to replace our existing Time-lapse Incubation and Imaging System situated in the IVF Laboratory, that supports assisted conception treatments. The equipment must have the ability to be able to continuously monitor embryo cell divisions while the embryos remain in the incubator with associated embryo selection software. The timelapse footage should be accessible to staff and patients. The equipment should be compatible with the existing Noblegen NG1 nitrogen generator and have the capacity for 8 dishes (min). This procurement aims to include purchase, associated consumables, installation, and ongoing service and maintenance.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Negotiated without publication of a contract notice
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 22 Dec 2023, 14:52 GMT
- Last source update
- 22 Dec 2023, 14:52 GMT
- FTS notice number
2023/S 000-037867- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0429a1Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
No tenders or no suitable tenders/requests to participate in response to open procedure; The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development under the conditions stated in the directive; The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator due to absence of competition for technical reasons
- Published justification
A PIN was published to notify potentially interested suppliers of the upcoming procurement for the Time-lapse Incubation and Imaging System. The PIN only received one response which met the authorities requirement of the Time-Lapse Incubation and Imaging System. This response has led to the decision to directly award the contract to Vitrolife, for the procurement of the Embryoscope system, without conducting a formal tender procedure in accordance with article 32, whereby a direct award may be made in a situation where no suitable alternatives exist and a lack of competition for technical reasons occurs.
The Embryoscope incubation system is a unique and highly specialised product with no equivalent alternatives in the market. Vitrolife's technology, experience, and reputation in the field provide additional justification for the direct award.
Given the unique circumstances, namely the lack of interest shown in response to the PIN, and the unique nature of the Embryoscope incubation system, the authority feels it is justified to issue a VEAT notice for a direct award to Vitrolife. This process ensures the transparency of the contract award decision.
The authority will conclude the process and enter into a formal contract on Wednesday 3rd January 2024, subject to a10 day standstill period which closes at 00:00 Tuesday 2nd January 2024.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecastContracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Vitrolife LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.