Notice Information
Notice Title
National Specialist Medicines Service (NSMS)
Notice Description
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.
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/031969-2026
- Current Stage
- Planning
- All Stages
- Planning
Procurement Classification
- Notice Type
- UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
- Procurement Type
- Standard
- Procurement Category
- Services
- Procurement Method
- Not Specified
- Procurement Method Details
- Not specified
- 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
- £30,000,000 £10M-£100M
- Lots Value
- Not specified
- Awards Value
- Not specified
- Contracts Value
- Not specified
Notice Dates
- Publication Date
- 8 Apr 20264 days ago
- Submission Deadline
- Not specified
- Future Notice Date
- 11 May 20265 weeks to go
- Award Date
- Not specified
- Contract Period
- 31 Mar 2027 - 31 Mar 2030 3-4 years
- Recurrence
- Not specified
Notice Status
- Tender Status
- Planned
- Lots Status
- Planned
- 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
- Post Town
- 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
-
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/031969-2026
8th April 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/023905-2025
21st May 2025 - Pipeline notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/013793-2025
8th April 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)
View full OCDS Record for this contracting process
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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