Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
Great Maze Pond
London
SE1 9RT
Contact
Martin Gibson
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKI44 - Lewisham and Southwark
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Health
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Provision of Sequencing Equipment and Consumables
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 33190000 - Miscellaneous medical devices and products
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC will be providing sequencing equipment and consumables to a number of Trusts for a research programme funded through NHSE. A negotiated procedure without prior publication was used as per regulation 32 to award this contract.
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: £376,110
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 33140000 - Medical consumables
- 33190000 - Miscellaneous medical devices and products
- 33140000 - Medical consumables
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKI - London
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Guys and St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) has been awarded Funding from NHS England (NHSE) and the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (the “Funders”) for the financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25 as the lead provider for the delivery of the Respiratory Metagenomic Clinical Service Development Programme (the ‘Project’), from Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC.
The Project is a pilot based on patented nanopore based sequencing technology and therefore this contract notice is issued under Regulation 32 (a) of the PCR 2015.
The Project aims to deliver a national respiratory metagenomics (RMg) pilot clinical service with an integrated biosecurity surveillance purpose, as a world-first programme to combine effective infectious disease management with rapid emerging pathogen detection and notification.
Oxford Nanopore sequencing is unique, in that it is the only sequencing technology available on the market that enables direct, real-time analysis of short to ultra-long fragments of DNA/RNA, in fully scalable formats. All Oxford Nanopore sequencing devices use flow cells which contain an array of “nanopores” embedded in an electro-resistant polymer membrane. Oxford Nanopore devices are based around a core sensing unit - a nanopore set in an arrayed sensor chip - used alongside a bespoke Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), which controls and measures the experiments. Each nanopore corresponds to its own electrode connected to a channel and sensor chip, which measures the electric current that flows through the nanopore. When a molecule passes through a nanopore, the current is disrupted to produce a characteristic ‘squiggle’. The squiggle is then decoded using base-calling algorithms to determine the DNA or RNA sequence in real time. A strand of DNA or RNA is made up of a sequence of different combinations of four nucleotide bases: A, T (or U for RNA), G and C and as each base passes through the nanopore it can be identified through the characteristic disruption it causes to the electrically current in real-time. Advantages of “real-time” sequencing include rapid access to time critical sequencing information (e.g. pathogen identification) and the generation of early sample insights.
• Oxford Nanopore sequencing is unique, in that it is the only sequencing technology available on the market that enables direct, real-time analysis of short to ultra-long fragments of DNA/RNA.
• Direct, real-time nanopore based sequencing and data analysis allows rapid turnaround of results and enabling sample to answer within 6-7hrs.
• Rapid library preparation solutions (from 10 minutes) as well as automatable, high-throughput library preparation that can be performed on various liquid handlers from as little as 3.5 hours for 96 samples.
• Possibility to perform a sequencing run, recover the library from the flow cell, and re-sequence on another flow cell to increase output.
• Real-time sequencing, with integrated compute enabling real-time base calling including epigenetic modifications (5mC and 5hmC, high accuracy base calling model).
• The GridION device can sequence native DNA and RNA from fragment sizes of 20 bp to millions of bases for up to 5 independent MinION Flow Cells.
• Scalable, benchtop and easily portable devices allowing multiple placements and sites to be set up cost efficiently in a decentralised model.
The Project has been jointly funded by NHS England and the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) until March 2025 to support the development of a networked respiratory metagenomics clinical service for acutely unwell patients in ICUs across England. The pilot will generate pathogen sequence and patient metadata with the potential to inform national surveillance systems in partnership with UK Health Security Agency.
As part of the Project, GSTT will disseminate the Funding to the Partner Trust to fund its participation in the Project (the “Work”).
The Partner Trusts included in the Work are:
Great Ormand Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust / HSL (Pathology supplier to UCLH)
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
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
- The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development
Explanation:
Guys and St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) has been awarded Funding from NHS England (NHSE) and the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (the “Funders”) for the financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25 as the lead provider for the delivery of the Respiratory Metagenomic Clinical Service Development Programme (the ‘Project’), from Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC.
The Project is a pilot based on patented nanopore based sequencing technology and therefore this contract notice is issued under Regulation 32 (a) of the PCR 2015.
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
27 March 2024
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
OXFORD NANOPORE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
Gosling Building Edmund Halley Road, Oxford Science Park
Oxfordshire
OX4 4DQ
Telephone
+44 7879896025
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKJ14 - Oxfordshire
National registration number
05386273
Internet address
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: £376,110
Lowest offer: £376,110 / Highest offer: £376,110 taken into consideration
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
High Court
The Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
Country
United Kingdom