Medical analysis services

Tender description

As part of the UK Government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic it required a provider of laboratory testing services over and above those able to be supplied by NHS laboratories; four Lighthouse Labs were established across England and Scotland to meet this need. A provider of an analysis platform to support the Covid-19 testing services to be provided by the lighthouse labs was sought by way of an initial tender process which was initially subject to legal challenge. The legal challenge proceedings have since been settled and the form of cooperation agreement for this service has only recently been concluded. An initial tender process was undertaken pursuant to the provisions of Reg 32(2)(c) (the negotiated procedure without prior publication) by Medicines Discovery Catapult Ltd (MDC) supported by UK Biocentre Ltd (UKBC) for a provider of an analysis platform to support the Covid-19 testing services to be provided by the Lighthouse Labs; the original award of a contract pursuant to that process was originally challenged in Court proceedings by another provider who had also participated in the tender exercise. Those Court proceedings have since settled (in early October) but as an interim and urgently needed solution in order to enable sufficient testing capacity to be available in the system in the UK during the pandemic it was agreed that MDC be permitted to enter into a short term (6 month) Interim Contract with UgenTec NV for those services (‘Interim Contract’). Given that the Court proceedings have now settled, and that the Interim contract expired on 15 October 2020, MDC and UgenTec NV entered into the originally procured contract on 15 October 2020 for what was the original term of that contract, being a period from 15 April 2020 through to 15 April 2021, it being recognised that the bulk of any set up costs due to UgenTec for the provision of these services would already have been incurred during the term of the Interim Contract (which would not be required to be paid again). The value of the services over the contract term (12 months) after taking into account costs incurred during the term of the Interim Contract (which were in the region of EUR 840 000) is expected to be in the region of EUR 1 740 000.