Supply of Foetal Bovine Serum

CPV: Laboratory reagents

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

3 Jan 2024, 16:25 GMT

Last source update

3 Jan 2024, 16:25 GMT

Authority reference

C22142

FTS notice number

2024/S 000-000160

Classification (CPV)

Laboratory reagents

Delivery area

UK

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-042a91 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

Based on the information detailed below, and publication of a VEAT Notice on 20/11/2023, it was concluded that VWR is the only supplier able to provide this superior quality-certified product, in the required quantity, to APHA at this time.<br/><br/>Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) is endemic in cattle globally, therefore it is extremely challenging to identify a source that is 100% free of the virus (i.e., most cattle herds are at risk of infection). The vast majority of the FBS produced world-wide will contain traces of BVD but for most laboratories this is not a problem (as it does not interfere with use for the serum). However, due to the unique nature of APHA’s work, diagnostic testing and research on BVD would be compromised if there was BVD (virus and antibodies) in the FBS product. The Defra veterinary pathway plans pledge to tackle BVD which costs UK industry between £14 to 36 million per year. To fulfil this objective, APHA must maintain testing capability of the highest quality in order to produce accurate disease management statistics to underpin this objective.<br/><br/>

• APHA previously conducted comprehensive in-house sample testing due to repeated quality issues with previous FBS batches (documented as BVD-free but subsequently found to contain small traces). Only one (1) supplier (VWR) met all the required criteria (including BVD-free and sourced from an approved USDA country which has no history of BSE).<br/><br/>
• APHA require the FBS from the same supplier (as the previous batch) because they have ongoing confidence in their ability to supply APHA with a high-quality standard reagent (FBS) that will not compromise onward testing capability.<br/><br/>
• Based on APHA’s extensive experience, due to the superior quality standards and the high volume of product required it is highly unlikely that another supplier would be able to meet this requirement at this time.

• VWR International LtdAwarded supplier1932827 Hunter Boulevard, Magna Park, Lutterworth, Leicestershire,, Lutterworth, East Midlands, LE17 4XNContact email, phoneShow contact details

No document links were published on the notice.