Awarded contract

SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Qualitative Test Kits

  • Department of Health and Social Care

F03: Contract award notice

Notice reference: 2021/S 000-003052

Published 15 February 2021, 5:31pm



Section one: Contracting authority

one.1) Name and addresses

Department of Health and Social Care

39 Victoria Street

London

SW1H 0EU

Email

Procurement.Operations@dhsc.gov.uk

Country

United Kingdom

NUTS code

UKI32 - Westminster

Internet address(es)

Main address

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care

Buyer's address

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care

one.4) Type of the contracting authority

Ministry or any other national or federal authority

one.5) Main activity

Health


Section two: Object

two.1) Scope of the procurement

two.1.1) Title

SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Qualitative Test Kits

two.1.2) Main CPV code

  • 33124130 - Diagnostic supplies

two.1.3) Type of contract

Supplies

two.1.4) Short description

Contract for Lateral Flow kits and consumables

two.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)

Value excluding VAT: £727,614,408.80

two.2) Description

two.2.3) Place of performance

NUTS codes
  • UK - UNITED KINGDOM

two.2.4) Description of the procurement

Contract for Lateral Flow kits and consumables

two.2.5) Award criteria

Price

two.2.11) Information about options

Options: No

two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds

The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No


Section four. Procedure

four.1) Description

four.1.1) Type of procedure

Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below

  • Extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority

Explanation:

Negotiated procedure without prior publication1. 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.

four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes


Section five. Award of contract

A contract/lot is awarded: Yes

five.2) Award of contract

five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract

15 January 2021

five.2.2) Information about tenders

Number of tenders received: 1

The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No

five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor

INNOVA MEDICAL GROUP INC

718 S. Primrose Ave, Monrovia,

Monrovia

91016

Country

United States

NUTS code
  • 00 - Other NUTS code
The contractor is an SME

No

five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)

Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: £727,614,408.80

Total value of the contract/lot: £727,614,409


Section six. Complementary information

six.3) Additional 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 £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 £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.

six.4) Procedures for review

six.4.1) Review body

The High Court

Strand

London

WC2A 2LL

Country

United Kingdom

Internet address

https://www.gov.uk/courts-tribunals