Public procurement notice: Prior Information Notice Without Call For Competition
Published: 2020-10-21
Buyer: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
Country: UK
Contract type: Supplies
CPV classification: 33600000: Pharmaceutical products
Estimated value: 1 GBP
Award criteria: The most economic tender

Technical requirements: Covid-19 requires over 500 000 ‘at risk’ people in the UK to be protected via antibody prophylaxis as they are unlikely to benefit from a vaccine. Demand for antibody prophylaxis is estimated at up to 1.5 million 1 g doses of an antibody cocktail (containing two antibodies at 0.5 g each) per annum. Current UK manufacturing supply chains do not have capacity to produce these levels. To secure this and ensure the UK is best placed to respond to future requirements, by assuring supply chain resilience and access, the Department is seeking to engage the market to explore how UK antibody manufacturing capability can be developed. The target is for capability to reach 1.5 m 1 g doses of antibody cocktail pa under Good Manufacturing Process by the end of Q2 2022.
There is a need to explore how UK antibody manufacturing capability can be developed to deliver supply chain resilience and secure access to 1.5 million doses of a 1 g antibody cocktail. Specifically, the Department is interested in engaging with the market prior to the publication of the contract notice to find innovative solutions that could deliver the service and further inform the specification of requirements, conditions of contract and commercial model. Further details of how suppliers may participate in the market engagement exercise are included in section VI.3) (additional information) at the end of this notice.
The Department wishes to engage with the market prior to the publication of the contract notice to find innovative solutions that could deliver the enduring demand and further inform the specification of requirements, conditions of contract and commercial model.
Interested parties will be able to explore and clarify understanding of the requirement through a virtual market engagement event (Monday 26 October). Post event the Department welcomes feedback from interested parties via a questionnaire where areas of interest include (but are not limited to):
• investment, in part or in full, by Her Majesty's Government (HMG) in developing antibody manufacturing in the UK with a commercial operator;
• creating mechanisms (including but not limited to agreements) to secure long-term, guaranteed supply contracts with ‘step-in’ rights in the event of future pandemics.
When responding to this notice, please advise if you will be attending the event and provide contact information for your representatives, (maximum three per organisation). Responses should be sent to abstender@beis.gov.uk by 5 p.m. UK time, Friday 23 October.
Deadline to register for this market engagement phase which will be via the Microsoft Teams platform. The agenda and protocols will be provided to all participants prior to the 26 October. The event will be recorded for transparency and audit purposes.
(Virtual) market event held. Post event the Department will issue the questionnaire to interested parties.
The anticipated launch of a potential procurement action (including the contract notice) is expected in December.
This notice is for information only, and the Department reserves the right to supplement and vary the conduct of the prior engagement process. Where this occurs, the Department will act transparently and treat all interested parties who have expressed an interest equally.
The Department reserves the right to discontinue the proposed tendering process and not award the contract. The information contained in this notice, including information relating to the nature and scope of the Department's requirements, the service classification of this requirement or the list of CPV codes, is only indicative of the Department's current thinking and is neither exhaustive nor binding. The Department reserves the right at its absolute discretion to amend it at the time of issue of any further notices or at any other time.
The publication of this notice in no way obliges the Department to commence with any competitive tender process. The Department is not and shall not be liable for any costs incurred by those expressing any interest in participating in the market engagement exercise advertised in this notice.
To view this notice, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=535012293


Award value: 1