Award

UHB WMSDE Digital Histology Annotation Solution

UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS BIRMINGHAM NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

Award

01 Dec 2025 at 17:09

Tender

29 Aug 2025 at 14:53

PlanningUpdate

11 Aug 2025 at 15:30

Planning

11 Aug 2025 at 15:05

Summary of the contracting process

The University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has recently awarded a contract for the "UHB WMSDE Digital Histology Annotation Solution" to Histofy Ltd, marking the completion of the procurement process on 1 December 2025. This award is under the services category within the IT sector, focusing on digital pathology and artificial intelligence, and spans the United Kingdom with services deployed primarily in Birmingham. The procurement followed an open procedure, with the contract's initial phase running from 12 December 2025 to 11 December 2026, having potential renewals extending up to 11 December 2030. The awarded contract has a gross value of GBP 593,460 and a net amount of GBP 494,550, with the procurement process attracting interest from three bidders, ultimately selecting an SME for a bespoke solution relating to medical data innovation.

This tender offers a significant opportunity for businesses specialising in IT consulting, software development, and support services, particularly those focusing on healthcare innovations and data management platforms. Companies with capabilities in AI and semantic annotation will find this contract aligns well with their expertise, especially firms geared towards improving healthcare with technology. As the awarded contract emphasizes the responsible usage of health data within a secure environment, businesses with a background in data security and compliance may see growth opportunities by adopting similar strategies within the NHS infrastructure. This contract encourages SMEs to leverage digital transformation in the healthcare sector, setting a strong precedent for innovation-led growth in the region.

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Notice Title

UHB WMSDE Digital Histology Annotation Solution

Notice Description

The WMSDE, hosted by UHBNHSFT is a data storage and access platform that improves patient care by delivering innovation sooner (West Midlands Secure Data Environment (West Midlands SDE). It is part of the national Data for Research and Development programme and is one of several regional platforms in the NHS Secure Data Environment network (The NHS Research Secure Data Environment Network - NHS England Digital). The WMSDE brings together existing collective knowledge and provide conditions for further innovation to benefit people locally and right across the West Midlands region by helping to understand and improve healthcare. Committed to responsible and ethical use of health data, the WMSDE maintains stringent information governance and ethical frameworks. It operates with the necessary approvals from the Health Research Authority, ensuring compliance with all relevant standards and regulations. Digital pathology whole slide images (WSI) represent a rich source of data that can be harnessed to develop algorithms that assist pathologists in diagnosis, providing critical information for treating a wide range of diseases. In creating these algorithms Computer scientists (CS) require WSI data to be prepared to facilitate their work. A crucial step in this preparation involves defining the pathology present within the slide and pinpointing its location so that it can be cross-referenced with the pixel data used by CS to train and test their algorithms. This process, known as semantic annotation, encompasses various levels of detail, from slide-level labels such as tissue type and disease status (positive or negative) to the identification of specific cell types and even subcellular structures, including organelles or viral inclusions. This document specifies the precise requirements for effective and efficient WSI curation, to be deployed within UHBNHSFT technical infrastructure managed by the West Midlands Secure Data Environment (WMSDE), to support the development of artificial intelligence (AI) based technologies. The Supplier shall be responsible for processing deidentified digital pathology image data and the associated metadata for annotation purposes, utilising the techniques outlined below. The data is to be used exclusively for research and innovation activities. All processing must take place within an approved West Midlands Secure Data infrastructure (WMSDE); under no circumstances shall the data be transferred, stored, or processed outside of the intended requirements set out.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: The Contracting Authority proposes to enter into Contract(s) for a maximum period of 5 years with the successful Tenderer(s). The initial contract term shall be 1 year with the potential for four 12 month Contract extension periods by election of the Contracting Authority, on such notice and for such periods as is specified by the Contract.

Planning Information

Pre-Market was already conducted under PCR 15 and was concluded on 31st March 2025 PIN Details: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/006996-2025 2025/S 000-006996

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05856a
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078659-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

48 - Software package and information systems

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support


CPV Codes

48000000 - Software package and information systems

72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£500,000 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
£500,000 £500K-£1M
Awards Value
£494,550 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
1 Dec 20252 months ago
Submission Deadline
24 Sep 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
27 Aug 2025Expired
Award Date
1 Dec 20252 months ago
Contract Period
12 Dec 2025 - 11 Dec 2026 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS BIRMINGHAM NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
Contact Name
Abdul Alim
Contact Email
abdul.alim@uhb.nhs.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
BIRMINGHAM
Postcode
B15 2WB
Post Town
Birmingham
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLG West Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLG3 West Midlands
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLG31 Birmingham
Delivery Location
TLG West Midlands (England), TLG31 Birmingham

Local Authority
Birmingham
Electoral Ward
Edgbaston
Westminster Constituency
Birmingham Edgbaston

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

HISTOFY

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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