Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
Ministry of Defence
DSTL Porton Down
SALISBURY
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
www.centralenquiries@dstl.gov.uk
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority
one.5) Main activity
Defence
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
240000
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 38434510 - Cytometers
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
Supply of Cytek Aurora Cytometer
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: £240,000
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
Main site or place of performance
Porton Down, SALISBURY
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Supply and Set-up of Cytek Aurora Cytometer
two.2.5) Award criteria
Cost criterion - Name: Affordable and meets technical requirements / Weighting: 100
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
Negotiated without a prior call for competition
- No tenders or no suitable tenders/requests to participate in response to open procedure
- The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development
- The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
- absence of competition for technical reasons
Explanation:
Redundancy
DSTL currently utilises a CyTek Aurora, which is a high specialised piece of equipment that works well. However when experiments are designed for this equipment and it breaks/malfunctions DSTL has no other system as capable to run those samples until the system is fixed. If that takes longer than expected then DSTL’s experimental samples may be ruined and not viable. Having a second system would mean DSTL can take those samples and run them on that system instead and therefore not lose the experimental data associated with that experiment. If DSTL were to purchase a different cytometer then it would not be possible to directly run the samples on this as 1. It may require a different setup 2. DSTL may not have the same technical specification to run those samples 3. DSTL may need to generate further controls for the experiment due to the different technical setups of the instruments (which may not be possible). Therefore having an identical machine from the same manufacturer is necessary for full redundancy of the capability.
Scientific Rigour
Machines from two different manufacturers are fundamentally not the same, they utilise different components and use different types of parts, detectors etc. This means that if DSTL starts an experiment on one system and it breaks then DSTL has a different system to run those samples on DSTL we cannot guarantee the data generated will be the same (assuming DSTL can run them on a different machine see redundancy comments). Having identical systems also means DSTL can run parallel studies with both machines and have data that will all be comparable as the system are the same spec work in the same way, utilise the same parts etc.
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No
Section five. Award of contract/concession
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract/concession
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
28 October 2021
five.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
FlowCEL Cytometric Engineering Ltd
WITCHFORD
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)
Lowest offer: £240,000 / Highest offer: £240,000 taken into consideration
five.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract/lot/concession is likely to be subcontracted
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
Negotiated Procedure without Prior Publication for
Technical Reasons under PCR, Regulation 32(5)(b)
The reasons are as follows:
Redundancy
DSTL currently utilises a CyTek Aurora, which is a high specialised piece of equipment that works well. However when experiments are designed for this equipment and it breaks/malfunctions DSTL has no other system as capable to run those samples until the system is fixed. If that takes longer than expected then DSTL’s experimental samples may be ruined and not viable. Having a second system would mean DSTL can take those samples and run them on that system instead and therefore not lose the experimental data associated with that experiment. If DSTL were to purchase a different cytometer then it would not be possible to directly run the samples on this as 1. It may require a different setup 2. DSTL may not have the same technical specification to run those samples 3. DSTL may need to generate further controls for the experiment due to the different technical setups of the instruments (which may not be possible). Therefore having an identical machine from the same manufacturer is necessary for full redundancy of the capability.
Scientific Rigour
Machines from two different manufacturers are fundamentally not the same, they utilise different components and use different types of parts, detectors etc. This means that if DSTL starts an experiment on one system and it breaks then DSTL has a different system to run those samples on DSTL we cannot guarantee the data generated will be the same (assuming DSTL can run them on a different machine see redundancy comments). Having identical systems also means DSTL can run parallel studies with both machines and have data that will all be comparable as the system are the same spec work in the same way, utilise the same parts etc.
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
SALISBURY
Country
United Kingdom