Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

Tender description

VEAT notice to alert the market of Medicines Discovery Catapult intention to award a contract for NanoString’s GeoMx™ Digital Spatial Profiler via a sole source procedure and not through a competitive OJEU tender procedure. Characterisation of the organisation of cellular phenotypes, functions, and interactions in the context of tissues is key to our understanding of health, disease and medicine development. The Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) is looking at new technologies that allow quantitative multiplexing biomarker capability combined with spatial resolution of these markers. This would allow SMEs access to equipment that gives them expression levels of biomarkers with the spatial context, deepening their understanding of heterogeneity and disease and accelerate the development of next generation targeted therapeutics. Historically, gold standard methods such as immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH) along with imaging mass spec have been used to assess spatial heterogeneity of proteins and nucleic acids in biological samples. However, these techniques combined, would require multiple sections of tissue to accommodate high number of biomarker measurements, increasing the variability due to heterogeneity but more importantly using up valuable sample. IHC and ISH are limited due to, being semi-quantitative and has low multiplexing capability. Whereas, mass spec imaging has the quantification but limited in spatial resolution and sensitivity. Another technology comparator, Flow cytometry, is routine for single cell protein characterisation but lacks spatial information, again misses part of the puzzle. MDC will procure the NanoString’s GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler through a sole source route and not a competitive tender via OJEU as this instrument is the only instrument which provides MDC with: — high multiplexing capability (up to 800 markers), — simultaneously counting protein and nucleic acid molecule expression in situ, with high specificity and spatial resolution and — the ability to quantitatively characterise precious clinical samples, ensuring maximum information from just 2x 5uM sections of tissue. Through one instrument. The NanoString’s GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler is to be procured through a sole source route and not tendered via OJEU as this instrument is the only instrument available in the market that allows for all of the following: High level of multiplexing – Simultaneously multiplexing >800 proteins/nucleic acid analytes by DSP compared to maximum of 8 by IHC. Greater use of precious clinical samples by obtaining up to 800 biomarkers from 2 tissue slices, getting more from less. Potential development of this platform will allow >1000 markers. Multiplex mRNA and Protein simultaneously on the same platform spatial information of each marker. Quantitative. I count = 1 molecule giving high sensitivity. Can detect down to single cell (10uM), identify all disease drivers in heterogeneous tissue. Flexibility of fresh, frozen and FFPE tissue, pre-clinical (cell lines/complex cell models) and clinical (tissue)application. This VEAT notice is altering the market of MDC intention to award a contract via a sole source procedure and not via a competitive tender via OJEU. MDC intend to award a contract for the above once a 10 day standstill period has ended. The 10 day standstill period will commence from the publication of this notice in OJEU.