--- title: "Clinical Trials Drug Supply in Primary Care for COVID-19" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-02cf1a" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-02cf1a" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02cf1a.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02cf1a.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE" published: "2021-08-02" --- # Clinical Trials Drug Supply in Primary Care for COVID-19 Buyer: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-02cf1a [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-02cf1a) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02cf1a.json) ## Summary The Department of Health and Social Care is initiating a planned procurement process for the contract titled "Clinical Trials Drug Supply in Primary Care for COVID-19." This procurement falls under the services industry category, specifically within pharmacy services, and is set to be conducted in the United Kingdom. It aims to establish agreements for the re-packing, re-labelling, and distribution of medicines for COVID-19 clinical trials, with a contract period of six months beginning mid-October 2021. Interested suppliers must submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) via email by no later than 6 September 2021, outlining their capabilities and preliminary cost estimates. This procurement presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in pharmaceutical distribution, particularly Distance Selling Pharmacies (DSPs) or online pharmacies capable of rapid delivery. Suppliers that are equipped to handle high-volume medication deliveries and can meet tight turnaround times will be especially well-suited to compete. With the potential to interact directly with departmental representatives through one-to-one calls or webinars, engaged suppliers can enhance their understanding of requirements and participate effectively in meeting the needs of clinical trials, thereby contributing positively to the UK's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. ## Notice Agreement for the re-packing, re-labelling for individual use and distribution of medicines into the community for clinical trials. Some of the drugs will be novel drugs, or unlicensed drugs and others will be off-label drugs. ### Lot Information Lot 1 The purpose of the exercise will be to assess, and potentially award a contract(s), to Distance Selling Pharmacies (DSPs) or online pharmacies, for the distribution of medicines to patients participating in COVID-19 clinical trial(s). It is likely that more than one clinical trial may require the same service. However, the exact number of trials and the number of participants are yet to be finalised. The medicines and their quantities to be distributed are currently unknown, as we await confirmation on which drugs will be included in the clinical trials. These will be shared with suppliers as soon as is practically possible.At the moment, DHSC are working to a scenario whereby 1,000 to 5,000 patients could be recruited into national priority COVID-19 clinical trial(s) per week over a 6-month period. Only one delivery of medication will be required per patient. Manufacturers of the drugs will store and deliver the drugs to the selected DSP or online pharmacy. Notification on what medication needs to be dispatched to trial participants will be provided by the Trial Team, it is essential that the drug is received by the trial participant within 24 hours of the notification. We need to ensure rapid delivery of the drugs to the patients, therefore it would also be beneficial to explore options where the drug can be received by the participants within a 4 hour window of the notification or same day delivery. It is also vital that the trial drugs are stored and dispatched according to ICH GCP guidelines. To note, these figures are planning scenarios based on current estimates so may change as the clinical trials progress and/or expand. Actual volumes of required deliveries may be lower depending on the progression of the pandemic and the uptake of participation in a clinical trial, however, we are currently assessing the capability of suppliers to meet the upper limit of our supply requirements. Any figures shared throughout the process should not be shared with anybody who is not part of either an Expression of Interest (EOI) or a bid for this work.Therefore, we are asking suppliers to submit an EOI if they are: 1) Able to robustly meet all their prescription nominations in the first instance (i.e. able to easily handle their BAU); and2) Able to either meet the above delivery demand to distribute Covid-19 treatment courses for clinical trials or be able to ramp up their capacity to meet this demand in the timeframes set out. The expectation is that this will be in place from mid-October 2021 for a minimum period of 6 months.In order to distribute these medicines in accordance with the clinical trial protocols, these medicines may need to be re-packaged down from their manufactured packs to a size that equates to a single treatment course.Even if they don't need to be re-packaged, with the patient information included, they will need to be labelled for individual patient use. With the new label on the pack, they will then need to be distributed throughout the UK (including the Devolved Administrations) to patients who are participating in the clinical trial. This contract is intended to be used for the UK's response to COVID-19, to support clinical trials looking into drug efficacy. The contract will initially be for a 6 month period, with an option to extend as required. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/018348-2021 | | Notice type | Planning Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 2 Aug 2021 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 5 Sep 2021 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | Not specified | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planned | | Lots status | Planned | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE | | Locality | LONDON | | Post town | South West London | | Postcode | SW1H 0EU | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLI London | | ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West | | ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London | | Local authority | Westminster | | Electoral ward | St James's | | Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 85 - Health and social work services ### Codes - 85149000 - Pharmacy services ## Release History - 2 Aug 2021 at 07:21 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/018348-2021 ## Notice URLs - https://www.gov.uk/courts-tribunals - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-02cf1a. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02cf1a.json.