Supply of 18F-DOPA Radionuclide tracer to NHS England Centres

NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit (AGCSU), on behalf of NHS England (referred to as the Commissioner)) is inviting suitably qualified and experienced suppliers to express an interest in delivering the supply of 18F-DOPA radiotracer.

18F-DOPA PET-CT scans are integral to the clinical pathway, as set out in the service specification. The 18F-DOPA PET-CT scan is used to identify patients who have the focal (rather than diffuse) form of congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI), who would benefit from surgery and the precise location of the focal lesions so that they can be removed.

18F-DOPA PET-CT scans are only performed at Institute of Nuclear medicine, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. At present, about ten 18F-DOPA PET-CT scans are performed annually.

The supplier will be required to manufacture, quality assure and control and deliver 18F-DOPA as required (circa ten doses per year). The supplier will need to be flexible in its scheduling of the production of 18F-DOPA to meet the service needs of the scan providers at University College London Hospital and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. The tracer will need to be manufactured and transported to the scan provider in a quantity that ensures that there is sufficient activity in the product to carry out an effective scan.

Interested parties are encouraged to register their interest and participate in the market questionnaire which will provide feedback to commissioners. Please note that this is not a call for competition although the commissioner would encourage all potential providers to respond to this market engagement exercise. It is possible that, as a result of this exercise, a formal tender process may not be required but instead a simpler supplier selection process may be considered. The outcome of this market engagement will help inform commissioners of the current and future capacity and capability of the market and will be considered with other evidence to inform the commissioning approach.

The contract duration for this supply is 5 years with an option to extend for a further two years.

The response deadline is 12:00 hrs midday on 18.02.22  To respond to the market engagement exercise please follow this link https://uk.eu-supply.com/ctm/supplier/publictenders?B=UK and either login or register on EU Supply and search from ID number 48184

The original Market Engagement webinar was due to be held on the 01.02.22. Due to unforeseen circumstances this webinar has now been rescheduled and will be held on the 08.02.22.

The Market engagement event will be held via Microsoft Teams at 10:30AM on Tuesday the 8th February 2022. If you would like to participate in this event or if you are unable to attend the session but wish to receive the details provided during the webinar, please email [email protected] by 12pm on Monday 7th February 2021.