SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Qualitative Test Kits

Concepts

• sars
• diagnostic supplies
• lateral flow kits
• sars-cov-2 antigen rapid qualitative test kits
• consumables

Location

London

Description

Contract for lateral flow kits and consumables.

Award Detail

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 33124130 - Diagnostic supplies

Indicators

• Award on basis of price.

Legal Justification

Negotiated procedure without prior publication 1) The Covid-19 outbreak is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern as declared by the World Health Organisation on 30 January 2020. The WHO Director General characterised Covid-19 as a pandemic on 11 March 2020; 2) A key element of ensuring an effective response to the pandemic is ensuring that there is adequate testing. The provision of test kits is critical to this response; 3) DHSC is satisfied the tests permitting use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication (Regulation 32(2)(c)) are met: A. As far as is strictly necessary: As set out above, the Government has made clear the importance of mass testing using LFD devices, with a clear impact on the economy and saving lives. DHSC has used modelling to calculate the volume requirements procured under this contract. The volume procured under this contract is the minimum necessary within the period until it is possible to acquire kits from a supplier under the procurement exercise currently being conducted; B. There are genuine reasons for extreme urgency: The substantial increase in cases with multiple new variants resulting in a third national lockdown has led to an increased urgent requirement for mass testing. DHSC case modelling clearly shows that there will be a significant gap in the availability of tests before the tests supplied through the procurement exercise are available for use. DHSC also understands that any delay to placing an order may result in available capacity being taken by other customers, resulting in a significant delay before tests are delivered. Both these factors will impact the government's mass testing strategy; C. The events that have led to the need for extreme urgency were unforeseeable: The substantial increase in Covid-19 cases, the new variants, and the requirement for a new national lockdown were not foreseeable by DHSC; D. It is impossible to comply with the usual timescales in the PCR: It is not possible to comply with the timescales associated with another procedure due to the urgent requirement to ensure the volume of tests available increases with the necessary demand; E. The situation is not attributable to the contracting authority – DHSC has not done anything to cause or contribute to the need for extreme urgency.

Other Information

INNOVA are providing Lateral flow test kits to support the UK Covid-19 testing strategy and to enable mass testing for C-19 through rapid testing The contract was originally awarded for tests in packs of 3, 7 and 25 with a contract value of GBP 727 600 010. The results of the accelerated procurement procedure did not provide DHSC with a supply of MHRA approved LFD tests for self-use. In addition, there is a need to increase capacity of asymptomatic LFD based testing across the country. Therefore, in order to meet this demand, the contract was varied on 10 February 2021 to increase the volume of tests provided in the 7 pack size. DHSC is relying on Regulation 72(5) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 for this amendment. The variation increased the overall value of the contract by GBP 14 399.20, which is below the relevant financial threshold for public supplies contract and within 10 % of the initial contract value. The variation did not alter the overall scope of the contract, and did not therefore alter the overall nature of the contract.