Find a TenderAwarded without competition
Published 17 Nov 2021, 18:41 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

PF-07321332 Supply Agreement for Pandemic Purposes

Official notice

Authority: Department of Health & Social Care (Central government)

GoodsAward procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Sectors: Medical Devices & Pharma (33) Delivery: UK
Budget not disclosedValue not published
Awarded 18 Oct 2021no call for competition
Awarded to Pfizer Ltd

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Vaccines have been shown to be highly effective in the fight against COVID-19, to date. However, there is a cohort of individuals who either cannot take the vaccine or for whom it is ineffective. There is therefore an urgent need to find an effective alternative. So far there are no primary care antiviral drugs that can be easily dispensed specifically to treat SARS-CoV-2 and prevent its transmission in the community.This agreement is for the procurement of 250,000 units of PF-07321332/ritonavir . It is one of the first oral and direct-acting antiviral drugs globally and is part of the UK’s multi-layered approach to COVID-19.

CPV: Pharmaceutical products

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Procurement of PF-07321332/ritonavirAwarded
Delivery: UK · London

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record · publisher note attached
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
17 Nov 2021, 18:41 GMT
Last source update
17 Nov 2021, 18:41 GMT
Authority reference
C51900
FTS notice number
2021/S 000-028748
Classification (CPV)
Pharmaceutical products
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-02f7bb 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; Extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority/entity and in accordance with the strict conditions stated in the directive

Published justification

Regulation 32(2)(c)The procurement was initiated on the basis that Regulation 32(2)(c) was applicable. In April 2021, the Antivirals Task Force (ATF) was established as it was recognised there was an urgent to find alternative novel anti-viral treatments. As far as is strictly necessary: The use of antivirals was identified as strictly necessary for the cohort of individuals for whom a vaccine is not an option. There are genuine reasons for extreme urgency: The procurement of antivirals aims to protect vulnerable cohorts of the population. This risk of public health presents a genuine emergency.The events that have led to the need for extreme urgency were unforeseeable: There are many aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which have been entirely unforeseeable. DHSC is acting on the newest information it has available to tailor its COVID-19 response accordingly. The situation is not attributable to the contracting authority: The situation of extreme urgency is not attributable to DHSC.It is impossible to comply with the usual timescales in the PCR: When the need for antivirals was urgently identified in April 2021, DHSC conducted a comprehensive market review. The result of this exercise was that it became clear that a procurement exercise could not be run due to the absence of competition. If the ATF were to run a procurement process now, it would worsen DHSC’s position.Regulation 32 (2) (b) (ii)In the course of this procurement, it has become clear to DHSC that Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) is applicable. The antivirals market is inverted, with an imbalance between demand and supply and limited worldwide supply capacity. This means there will be a finite supply of antivirals available in 2021/22: to date only two antivirals have received or have the potential to gain MHRA approval for Autumn/Winter 2021.Looking forward, DHSC is expected to publish a Prior Information Notice (PIN) in November in respect of its likely further portfolio requirements with a view to running future open procurement exercises where possible. Please see Contracts Finder Notice for full justification.

Publisher note: Information on contract value is being withheld due to commercial sensitivity under Regulation 50(6)(b) and (c) as the publication of the price may enable competitors to calculate cost per dose. This will (i) commercially prejudice the supplier in its ongoing negotiations with other national governments; (ii) commercially prejudice the contracting authority in its ongoing negotiations with other vendors and (iii) impact fair competition between vendors.

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Bids received 1
Contracts signed 1latest 18 Oct 2021
Awarded toValueDateStatus
Pfizer Ltd——Awarded

Contracts

  • Contract 028748-2021-1 · Pfizer Ltd

    Signed
    18 Oct 2021
    Value
    —
    Status
    active

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
1bids · 0 electronic0—US$1 – US$1

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Department of Health and Social Care

Contracting authorityCentral GovernmentMinistry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisionsHealth 39 Victoria Street, London, London, SW1H 0EUContact name, email

Dispute resolution & review bodies

  • The High CourtReview body LondonContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice
  • Pfizer LimitedAwarded supplier Walton Oaks, Dorking Road, Kent, UK, KT20 7NS

Official documents & specifications

Official links; attachments are not copied

No document links were published on the notice.