Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
University of Aberdeen
University Office, King's College
Aberdeen
AB24 3FX
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKM50 - Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire
Internet address(es)
Main address
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/procurement
Buyer's address
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA00102
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Education
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Award of contract for spatial sequencing platform - University of Aberdeen
Reference number
AU23/28
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 38540000 - Machines and apparatus for testing and measuring
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
Award of contract for Spatial Sequencing Platform without prior call for competition.
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: £610,839
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 38540000 - Machines and apparatus for testing and measuring
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKM50 - Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Award of contract for spatial sequencing equipment without seeking offers through a formal procurement procedure as competition is absent for technical reasons. Under clause 33 (1)(b)(ii) of the legislation, a contracting authority may award a contract without competition (only where no reasonable alternative or substitute exists, and the absence of competition is not the result of artificial narrowing down of parameters of the procurement). In this case, the grounds for not exposing to competition are as follows:
The equipment provided by the supplier is the only one which can meet the research requirements and is the only instrument on the market capable of:
Spatially resolving both protein and RNA targets, in FFPE and Fresh Frozen tissues, and using the same chemistry and workflow (in-situ, oligo-barcodes which are photocleaved from the target transcript).
Capacity to perform the above in a manner non-destructive to the tissue, enabling the use of precious samples for follow-on experiments.
Capacity work with Tissue Microarray (TMA) Format which is required for a pilot study to spatially profile distinct tissue regions (GFAP, NeuN, Iba1) from 96 patient brain tissues on just one slide.
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 services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
- absence of competition for technical reasons
Explanation:
Award of contract without seeking offers through a formal procurement procedure as competition is absent for technical reasons. Under clause 33 (1)(b)(ii) of the legislation, a contracting authority may award a contract without competition (only where no reasonable alternative or substitute exists, and the absence of competition is not the result of artificial narrowing down of parameters of the procurement).In this case, the grounds for not exposing to competition are as follows:
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
Contract No
AU23/28
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
18 September 2023
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
Number of tenders received from SMEs: 1
Number of tenders received from tenderers from other EU Member States: 0
Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 1
Number of tenders received by electronic means: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
NanoString Technologies
11th Floor Whitefriars, Lewins Mead
Bristol
BS1 2NT
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
The contractor is an SME
Yes
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot: £610,839
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
(SC Ref:745022)
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Aberdeen Sheriff Court
Aberdeen
Country
United Kingdom