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National Specialist Medicines Service (NSMS)

NHS England

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

Tender

29 May 2026 at 12:13

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

08 Apr 2026 at 14:07

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

21 May 2025 at 13:46

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Planning

08 Apr 2025 at 17:12

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

NHS England is actively seeking qualified contractors through an open procedure to participate in the National Specialist Medicines Service (NSMS) tendering process. This procurement initiative focuses on pharmacy services, spanning multiple Lots, and is designed to support national priorities in medicine use and safety from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2030, with a possible extension for up to an additional year. Interested parties are advised to prepare bids for one or more of the five distinct Lots, each tailored to specific areas of medicine management, with the procurement process currently in the tender stage. The tender, valued at £36,000,000 ex VAT for the initial term, requires submissions by 17 July 2026, and has been advertised with a competitive scope to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs) to apply. The tender can be accessed via NHS England’s e-procurement portal, Atamis.

This contract offers substantial opportunities for businesses specialising in pharmacy services to contribute to a national healthcare initiative while growing their service offerings. The procurement is structured to include strategic advice, quality assurance, and optimisation of medicines, which can drive value for participating entities. SMEs and VCSEs with the ability to develop cost-effective and standardised tools and processes will find this an ideal contract to bid for, as it will allow them to leverage their expertise in clinical support and medicines management across strategic and frontline services. Suppliers capable of collaborating and integrating at local and national levels stand to enhance their business profile significantly through partnership with NHS England under this comprehensive and strategic contract.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

National Specialist Medicines Service (NSMS)

Notice Description

NHS England is commissioning the National Specialist Medicines Service (NSMS) contract for 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2030, with an option to extend for up to 12 months to 31 March 2031. The contract holders will support the implementation of national policies and priorities in medicines use and safety by developing cost-effective, standardised tools and processes that can be adopted and integrated locally. It will provide expert clinical quality assurance in medicines technical services and support the NHS to achieve optimum value from medicines budgets. In addition, it will provide clinical support for frontline service delivery in relation to medicines and enable the strategic commissioning of medicines-related services. The NSMS will provide essential information on the clinical and cost-effective use and supply of medicines at local and national level, helping to ensure patient access to essential treatment for a wide range of stakeholders and citizens. The contract is intended to reduce duplication at local level, allowing clinicians to spend more time with patients while supporting the consistent adoption of quality and value improvements. The tender is divided into five Lots as set out below. Tenderers may bid for any number of Lots and may be awarded any number of Lots. While the budgetary value of PS36,000,000.00 ex VAT has been included in this notice, Tenderers should be aware that the optional extension period is subject to further budgetary approvals. Approval for the initial 3-year term has been granted on the basis of: Lot 1 Medicines Procurement annual budget PS3,000,000 ex VAT Lot 2 Quality Assurance annual budget PS3,000,000 ex VAT Lot 3 Medicines Optimisation annual budget PS1,000,000 ex VAT Lot 4 Safer Medicines Use annual budget PS1,000,000 ex VAT Lot 5 Co-ordination annual budget PS1,000,000 ex VAT An additional budget of PS1,000,000.00 ex VAT per annum is available for any ad hoc in-year work required over and above the service specification and will be commissioned as optional services. Tenderers should not rely on this additional funding or include it within their bids, as any such requirement will be agreed on a case-by-case basis through the Contract Change Request process set out in the contract. Tenderers will therefore be asked to submit a rate card for these optional services, which will be tested during tender evaluation by way of scenario testing. Full details of this tender, documents and the tender timetable will be made available via the NHSE e-procurement portal, Atamis - https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome. The tender will remain open for approximately 60 days to allow sufficient time for Tenderers to prepare and submit a response. Any clarification questions relating to the tender documentation must be submitted via the correspondence facility for project C403537. Please note that all clarification questions and responses will be circulated to all interested Tenderers, so questions should be anonymised by removing all identifiable information. All interested Tenderers are also required to have registered on the Central Digital Platform to allow a contract to be awarded to them and their details shared with NHSE as part of their bid response.

Lot Information

Lot 1 Medicines Procurement

The provision of strategic advice to policy makers and implementation support for the procurement of medicines in the NHS, operational activity on shortage management across the system, alignment with the NHS Greener medicines programme and horizon scanning.

Options: The Contract/s will contain an optional extension for an additional period of up to 12 months subject to additional budgetary approval. If the Authority wish to extend this contract it will do so by way of a contract variation utilising the Change Control Process set out within the contract and advertise the variation in line with the Procurement Act 2023.

Renewal: The Contract/s will contain an optional extension for an additional period of up to 12 months subject to additional budgetary approval. If the Authority wish to extend this contract it will do so by way of a contract variation utilising the Change Control Process set out within the contract and advertise the variation in line with the Procurement Act 2023.

Lot 2 Quality Assurance

The provision of a range of activities relating to the audit of NHS Section 10 aseptic units, production of advice, guidance and support tools, standards, quality assurance advice for procurement, and quality assurance strategic leadership.

Options: The Contract/s will contain an optional extension for an additional period of up to 12 months subject to additional budgetary approval. If the Authority wish to extend this contract it will do so by way of a contract variation utilising the Change Control Process set out within the contract and advertise the variation in line with the Procurement Act 2023.

Renewal: The Contract/s will contain an optional extension for an additional period of up to 12 months subject to additional budgetary approval. If the Authority wish to extend this contract it will do so by way of a contract variation utilising the Change Control Process set out within the contract and advertise the variation in line with the Procurement Act 2023.

Lot 3 Medicines Optimisation

The provision of specialist advice and expertise about medicines use, maximising value, quality and patient outcomes. This includes the development of key enablers such as Patient Group Directions (PGDs) Standard Operating procedures (SOPs) relating to medicines.

Options: The Contract/s will contain an optional extension for an additional period of up to 12 months subject to additional budgetary approval. If the Authority wish to extend this contract it will do so by way of a contract variation utilising the Change Control Process set out within the contract and advertise the variation in line with the Procurement Act 2023.

Renewal: The Contract/s will contain an optional extension for an additional period of up to 12 months subject to additional budgetary approval. If the Authority wish to extend this contract it will do so by way of a contract variation utilising the Change Control Process set out within the contract and advertise the variation in line with the Procurement Act 2023.

Lot 4 Safer Medicines Use

The provision of advice to enable commissioners and providers to implement national priorities and local initiatives to deliver services and to improve medicines safety.

Options: The Contract/s will contain an optional extension for an additional period of up to 12 months subject to additional budgetary approval. If the Authority wish to extend this contract it will do so by way of a contract variation utilising the Change Control Process set out within the contract and advertise the variation in line with the Procurement Act 2023.

Renewal: The Contract/s will contain an optional extension for an additional period of up to 12 months subject to additional budgetary approval. If the Authority wish to extend this contract it will do so by way of a contract variation utilising the Change Control Process set out within the contract and advertise the variation in line with the Procurement Act 2023.

Lot 5 Co-ordination

The co-ordination of the delivery of the service to ensure consistent high-quality delivery across all five elements of the service which will include: * Addressing any interrelated issues and interdependencies and developing and overseeing delivery of plans for outputs that would require all aspects of the service to contribute to successful outcomes. * Contract management of suppliers for each Lot will remain an Authority activity. * The Supplier will also work closely with NHS pharmacy professional leadership and review annual workplans to ensure there is no duplication, appropriate collaboration and attention to cross-cutting priorities, such as productivity and efficiency and sustainability. * The Supplier will identify and nominate specialist subject matter expertise to inform local and national initiatives to develop the technical pharmacy workforce. * To provide administration of payments on behalf of the contract holder. These services will be user friendly, easily accessible and be underpinned by digital support that meets all NHS and public service standards which includes Information governance; Cyber Essentials Security Certification compliance and Data Security and Protection Toolkit Certified

Options: The Contract/s will contain an optional extension for an additional period of up to 12 months subject to additional budgetary approval. If the Authority wish to extend this contract it will do so by way of a contract variation utilising the Change Control Process set out within the contract and advertise the variation in line with the Procurement Act 2023.

Renewal: The Contract/s will contain an optional extension for an additional period of up to 12 months subject to additional budgetary approval. If the Authority wish to extend this contract it will do so by way of a contract variation utilising the Change Control Process set out within the contract and advertise the variation in line with the Procurement Act 2023.

Planning Information

NHS England is commissioning the National Specialist Medicines Service (NSMS) 2027-2030 contract. The contract holders will support in the implementation of national policies and priorities in medicines use and safety by developing cost effective standardised tools and processes that can be adopted/integrated locally. It will provide expert clinical quality assurance in medicines technical services and supports the NHS to get best value optimisation from the medicines budgets. In addition, it will provide clinical support for frontline service delivery in relation to medicines and to enable strategic commissioning of medicines related services. The NSMS will provide essential information on clinical and cost effectiveness use of medicines and their supply at local and national level to ensure patient access to essential treatment to a range of stakeholders and citizens. The premise of the contract is that these activities can avoid duplication at local level giving local clinicians more time for their patients and that opportunities to improve quality and value are taken up comprehensively. This preliminary market engagement session is due to be held on the 14th April 2026 between 1-2pm, where details of the Tender timetable will be made available, however, we will launch the ITT following the May elections and it will be out in the market for approximately 60 days to allow amply time for interested bidders to form a response. All parties interested in attending the session should register their interest by sending an email to jacqueline.powell9@nhs.net by 1pm Monday 13 April 2026. Please note up to a maximum of 3 attendees per supplier is permitted. When registering your interest, please ensure name and email address for all attending are provided, as a Teams invite will be sent to those registered. Please DO NOT forward the Teams invite on to any other party than those names provided. If unable to attend this session, a transcript will be made available upon request. Participation (or non participation) will not advantage or disadvantage suppliers in any future procurement.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-04ff2c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/050788-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Planning, Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK4 - Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85149000 - Pharmacy services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£36,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
£36,000,000 £10M-£100M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
29 May 20264 months ago
Submission Deadline
17 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
11 May 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Apr 2027 - 31 Mar 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence
2028-04-01

Notice Status

Tender Status
Active
Lots Status
Active
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
NHS England
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SE1 8UG
Postcode Area
South East London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI45 Lambeth
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Lambeth
Electoral Ward
Waterloo & South Bank
Westminster Constituency
Vauxhall and Camberwell Green

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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