New microbiology framework established to ensure speedy access to crucial medical supplies
Public Health England (PHE) has established a new framework to help ensure labs and other diagnostic and treatment services have easier and faster access to essential supplies.
It is open to all public sector, academic and charitable bodies and provides access to approved suppliers of tools for sample analysis, diagnostics and research and development across the infectious disease spectrum, organised into the following lots:
Diagnostics goods and services – 113 suppliers.
Research and development goods and services – 68 suppliers.
Manufacturing, product development and commercialisation – 9 suppliers.
Clinical laboratory diagnostic testing – 50 suppliers.
Lots 1 to 3 of the Framework provides for diagnostic products and services used in the laboratory and out in the field – from assay development through to the commercialisation of new tests.
Lot 4 will enable greater collaboration between the public and private sectors and to provide a wider pool of suppliers that can be called upon for testing capacity, as and when required.
The new structure was developed following the success of the initial PHE Microbiology Framework, launched in 2016. Lots 3 and 4 have been added to this format to provide easy access to purchasing supplies that meet the necessary requirements.
Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) is also within the scope of the framework., reflecting its strategic importance to the health market to support COVID-19 variant strain identification.
Nilesh Pattani, Head of Scientific Procurement, said:
This will be an important strategic commercial vehicle to procure our future diagnostic testing needs, building on the benefits of the PHE Microbiology Framework which has been invaluable. The market response has been tremendous, and the framework provides access to 170 suppliers and their technologies.
The framework directly supports the new UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), established earlier in 2021 to plan, prevent and respond to external health threats such as COVID-19 which has caused 128,000 deaths in the UK and nearly 4 million worldwide.
The framework’s development was supported by both the Cabinet Office and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
