Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2021-06-11
Buyer: Aarhus Universitet
Country: DK
Contract type: Supplies
Procedure: Negotiated without a prior call for competition
CPV classification: 33000000 | 38000000
Estimated value: 99660 EUR
Award criteria: Lowest price

Technical requirements: The Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University wishes to purchase the nCounter® SPRINT profiler. The profiler will be used to identify molecular biomarkers (non-coding RNAs, mRNA, protein) in preclinical and clinical samples in a relatively unbiased setting (~840 targets in one run). In particularly, we are interested in using the profiler for measurements of non-coding RNAs in formalin fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) human brain tissue.
FFPE tissue is major biological source in clinical research. However, an relatively unbiased profiling of FFPE tissue has been reported challenging, due to macromolecular fragmentation and nucleic acid crosslinking. Therefore, it is important to select an appropiate platform. Previously, three independent platforms (next generation sequencing, microarray and NanoString) for profiling of microRNAs (miRNAs) using clinical FFPE samples from hepatoblastoma (HB) patients have been investigated. The number of detected miRNAs ranged from 228 to 345 (median=294) using the next generation sequencing platform, whereas 79 to 125 (median=112) miRNAs were identified using microarrays in three HB samples, including technical replicates, and NanoString identified 299 to 372 miRNAs in two samples (Scientific Reports, 2015). Recently, that was followed by a study reporting that the Nanostring technique using the nCounter SPRINT profiler was more accurate and sensitive for miRNA and circRNA detections than NGS (Lab Invest. 2018; 98(12): 1657-69). We have conducted our first experiment with 300 FFPE human brains and demonstrated the superiority of this technique. To further elaborate on these results future studies will include FFPE human brain, human saliva and blood samples, and human brain organoids. Preclinically rodent tissue and blood will also be included in the biomarker analysis.
— allow measurement of up to 840 target in a single sample (NanoString’s patented molecular barcodes provide a true digital detection technology capable of highly multiplexed analysis),
— provide highly reproducible data over 5 logs of dynamic range and do not require any amplification steps that might introduce bias to the results (nCounter’s digital counting capability ensures that),
— be highly tolerant of difficult sample types such as FFPE and crude-cell lysates (The nCounter chemistry ensures that),
The combination of requirements described above are fulfilled exclusively by one supplier. The possibility that there are other potential suppliers who could deliver the same has been objectively excluded by market consultations.
Following the notification, a standstill period of 10 calendar days will be held in accordance to paragraph 3 of Act No 593 of 2 June 2016 on the Danish Act on the Complaints Board for public Procurement. This implies that the contracting authority cannot sign the Contract with the winning Tenderer before the standstill period has expired.
In case of complaints about tenders or decisions, e.g. award of contracts covered by Section II or III in the Danish Public Procurement Act must be submitted to the Complaints Board for Public Procurement (Klagenævnet for Udbud) within 45 calendar days from the day after the contractor published a notice in the Official Journal on the conclusion of a contract. At the latest concurrently with submission of an appeal to the Complaints Board for Public Procurement, the complainant must inform the Contracting Authority of the alleged infringement, and whether the appeal is to be referred to the board.


Winner: Nanistring Technologies
Award value: 99660