Award

Purchase and installation of an automated pipetting system (incorporating a Tecan Freedom EVO 150cm liquid handler)

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

18 Sep 2025 at 15:18

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

18 Sep 2025 at 14:51

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) has awarded a direct contract for the purchase and installation of an automated pipetting system to Illumina Cambridge Limited. This procurement, completed on 18th September 2025, involves the acquisition of a Tecan Freedom EVO 150cm liquid handler, among other equipment, for use at the CUH laboratory in Cambridge, United Kingdom (UKH12 region). The contract, valued at £247,938.47, is categorised under 'Laboratory, optical and precision equipment' and follows the completion of the tender process. Key dates for this procurement include the contract period starting on 1st October 2025 and ending on 31st March 2026, with a scheduled signature date by the end of 1st October 2025.

This tender presents substantial opportunities for businesses, particularly those involved in laboratory and precision equipment manufacturing and supply. Organisations capable of providing advanced automated laboratory systems would be well-positioned to work with public authorities like CUH. The procurement serves as a strategic upgrade to support high-throughput microarray testing at the CUH laboratory, enhancing laboratory efficiency and accuracy. The equipment expansion aligns with the East Genomics strategy, which is set to advance laboratory capacities, thereby offering growth prospects for businesses that can supply state-of-the-art laboratory technology solutions.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Purchase and installation of an automated pipetting system (incorporating a Tecan Freedom EVO 150cm liquid handler)

Notice Description

The purchase will incorporate the following equipment: A) An Infinium Automated Pipetting System with ILASS automation control software, incorporating a Tecan Freedom EVO 150cm liquid handler with robotic manipulator arm (RoMa) and accessories. B) A custom barcode reader and PosID system for running the Infinium Assay workflow and integrating this with the laboratory management system (EPIC). C) Infinium XT Starter Kit (48 Beadchip) 220V including upgrade of all necessary peripheral equipment needed to perform the assay. The equipment will be supplied directly from Illuimina Cambridge Ltd.

Procurement Information

The East Genomics strategy is to progressively repatriate wet lab testing to Cambridge over a period of time. The reduction in lab space at Leicester and ageing equipment at Nottingham are both factors in choosing to repatriate Microarray capacity to the CUH laboratory in the next year and to end the process at both of the lgls. The CUH genomics laboratory needs to invest in additional equipment to support the consolidation of the East Genomics Microarray service at Cambridge. There is an obsolescence issue with the current configuration of equipment and the introduction of a new Array which is not backward compatible. The laboratory cannot perform the upgrade of the equipment and transfer to the new Array without significant interruption to testing. There is not sufficient capacity to repatriate all the existing testing even before accounting for future growth. The plan is therefore to purchase a new pipetting system configured for the new array. This can be used to achieve QA approval of the process without impacting on current testing volumes. Once complete, the existing Array can be updated to the new version and then repatriation of testing from lgls can occur in 25/26. The Cambridge laboratory acquired an Infinium pipetting system with Tecan Freedom EVO 150cm liquid handler in 2020 to introduce a high-throughput microarray test. The lab delivers over 6,000 results a year using this platform testing young patients with suspected rare-disorders, pregnancy cases to aid decision making on termination of pregnancies, as well as blood cancer patients including participation in a national Altogether trial for paediatric leukaemia. Ilumina upgraded their offering of the 'Excaliber' assay protocol in June 2024. It streamlines sample preparation workflows and reduces errors which will save input time from laboratory staff. The existing system needs to be updated to this protocol within two years to avoid running with an unsupported assay. This requirement has shaped our approach to increasing the liquid handling capacity at Cambridge. Purchasing another system at this point allows the laboratory to install and QA approve the new configuration without reducing current capacity. Once completed, all liquid handling will run through the new equipment whilst the upgrade to the 'Excaliber' protocol is completed on our existing equipment. The repatriation can then progress during the with an aim to be complete for April 2026.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-059d71
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/057848-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

CPV Codes

38000000 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£206,615 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
18 Sep 20255 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
17 Sep 20255 months ago
Contract Period
30 Sep 2025 - 31 Mar 2026 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
kevin.macey1@nhs.net
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
CAMBRIDGE
Postcode
CB2 0QQ
Post Town
Cambridge
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH4 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH42 Cambridgeshire CC
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Cambridge
Electoral Ward
Queen Edith's
Westminster Constituency
South Cambridgeshire

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

ILLUMINA CAMBRIDGE

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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