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Drug Knowledge Base for Electronic Health and Care Record

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

TenderCancellation

21 Jul 2026 at 08:28

UK12 - Procurement Termination Notice
Award

09 Jul 2026 at 09:41

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

09 Jul 2026 at 09:14

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust procured a medicines drug knowledge base and related software and support services for electronic health and care records. The requirement was FDB Multilex, a proprietary First Databank UK product used for medicines optimisation and clinical decision support within the Healthset Programme and Epic’s electronic health and care record. Its functions include supporting barcoded medicines administration, clinical decision support and inventory management, with integration into existing Epic workflows. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is the buyer. The collaborative arrangement also covers University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust, Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust. Delivery is across the participating NHS organisations in England, supporting the Healthset Programme.

The procurement reached award stage but is now complete and the award has been cancelled. It used a direct award without prior publication of a competition under Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii), on the stated basis that FDB UK was the only supplier able to provide the required technical functionality and integration. First Databank UK Ltd was named as supplier on 8 July 2026, with an awarded value of £2,898,280 excluding VAT (£3,477,936 including VAT). The intended contract period was 22 July 2026 to 31 March 2036. The award was cancelled on 20 July 2026, and a procurement termination notice was dated 21 July 2026. The award covered one lot and was identified as suitable for SMEs.

This requirement indicates demand for specialist medicines knowledge bases that integrate with Epic electronic health and care records and support medicines optimisation, clinical decision support, barcoded medicines administration and inventory management. A credible future competitor would need a mature proprietary or licensed medicines database, robust clinical content and the technical capability to embed it into existing Epic workflows across multiple NHS trusts. Evidence of deployment in UK Epic installations, interoperability with health and care record systems, reliable software support and experience in clinical safety and medicines management would strengthen a supplier’s position. The scale and collaborative nature of the Healthset Programme favour providers able to support several NHS organisations consistently, rather than businesses offering a standalone local system.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Drug Knowledge Base for Electronic Health and Care Record

Notice Description

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust awarded a contract to First Data Bank (FDB)UK for the provision of FDB Multilex. Multilex is FDB UK's proprietary software which provides medicines optimisation and clinical decision support for medicines management for the purposes of embedding within the Healthset Programme for Epic electronic health and care record. FDB Multilex drug knowledge base is used in all UK Epic installations and is the only drug knowledge base product available with the core functionality required by encompass. The Authority is relying on egulation 32(2)(b)(ii) as the contract can only be supplied by FBD UK as competition is absent for technical reasons.

Procurement Information

Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below The procurement falls outside the scope ofapplication of the regulations Explanation: First Data Bank (FDB) UK is the provider of Multilex. The FDB Multilex drug knowledge base embeds with existing Epic workflows to enable barcoded medicines administration, clinical decision support and inventory management. FDB Multilex drug knowledge base is used in all UK Epic installations and is the only drug knowledge base product available with the core functionality required by Healthset Programme. The Authority is relying on Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) as the contract can only be supplied by FBD UK as competition is absent for technical reasons.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c6f3
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/068480-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Large

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

72250000 - System and support services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£2,898,280 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
21 Jul 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
8 Jul 20262 months ago
Contract Period
22 Jul 2026 - 31 Mar 2036 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
TAUNTON
Postcode
TA1 5DA
Postcode Area
Taunton
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK6 North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK62 Somerset
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Somerset
Electoral Ward
Bishop's Hull & Taunton West
Westminster Constituency
Taunton and Wellington

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

FIRST DATABANK UK LTD

Further Information

Notice Documents

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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