---
title: "Supply of BVD-free Foetal Bovine Serum to APHA"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-041b1b"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-041b1b"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-041b1b.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-041b1b.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEFRA NETWORK ETENDERING PORTAL"
published: "2023-11-20"
---

# Supply of BVD-free Foetal Bovine Serum to APHA

Buyer: DEFRA NETWORK ETENDERING PORTAL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-041b1b

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## Summary

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has awarded a contract to VWR International Ltd for the supply of BVD-free Foetal Bovine Serum. The procurement process, initiated by Defra, involved a limited negotiation without publication of a contract notice. The contract is valued at £284,400 and was signed on 13th November 2023. The tender falls under the goods category, specifically laboratory reagents, and the delivery location is Addlestone, Surrey, UK.

This tender for the supply of BVD-free Foetal Bovine Serum to APHA presents opportunities for businesses in the laboratory reagents industry. Companies capable of providing high-quality, certified products in large quantities are well-suited to compete. The contract award to VWR International Ltd signifies the importance of meeting APHA's specific requirements for sourcing superior quality reagents critical for their diagnostic testing and research on Bovine Viral Diarrhea. The tender deadline for awarding the contract was set after a voluntary standstill period of 10 days from the notice publication date.

## Notice

This is a voluntary ex ante transparency (VEAT) notice, indicating that Defra (on behalf of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)) intends to enter into a contract with VWR International Ltd to purchase a 300-litre batch (600 x 500ml) of gamma irradiated, frozen, sterile, PCR-tested Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) free, filtered Seradigm Ultimate Grade Foetal Bovine Serum (FBS). 

Defra intends to award a contract to VWR International Ltd following the expiry of a voluntary standstill period, 10 days from the date of publication of this notice.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

This is a voluntary ex ante transparency (VEAT) notice, indicating that Defra (on behalf of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)) intends to enter into a contract with VWR International Ltd to purchase a 300-litre batch (600 x 500ml) of gamma irradiated, frozen, sterile, PCR-tested Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) free, filtered Seradigm Ultimate Grade Foetal Bovine Serum (FBS). 

Defra intends to award a contract to VWR International Ltd following the expiry of a voluntary standstill period, 10 days from the date of publication of this notice.

### Procurement Information

Based on the information detailed below, the conclusion would be that VWR is the only supplier able to provide this superior quality-certified product, in the required quantity, to APHA at this time.

Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) is endemic in cattle globally, therefore it is extremely challenging to identify a source that is 100% free of the virus (i.e., most cattle herds are at risk of infection). The vast majority of the FBS produced world-wide will contain traces of BVD but for most laboratories this is not a problem (as it does not interfere with use for the serum). However, due to the unique nature of APHA's work, diagnostic testing and research on BVD would be compromised if there was BVD (virus and antibodies) in the FBS product. The Defra veterinary pathway plans pledge to tackle BVD which costs UK industry between PS14 to 36 million per year. To fulfil this objective, APHA must maintain testing capability of the highest quality in order to produce accurate disease management statistics to underpin this objective.

* APHA conducted comprehensive in-house sample testing several years ago due to repeated quality issues with previous FBS batches (documented as BVD-free but subsequently found to contain small traces). Only one (1) supplier (VWR) met all the required criteria (including BVD-free and sourced from an approved USDA country which has no history of BSE).
* APHA requires the FBS from the same supplier (as the previous batch) because they have ongoing confidence in their ability to supply APHA with a high-quality standard reagent (FBS) that will not compromise onward testing capability.
* Based on APHA's extensive experience, due to the superior quality standards and the high volume of product required it is highly unlikely that another supplier would be able to meet this requirement at this time.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/034202-2023 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Negotiated without publication of a contract notice |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 20 Nov 2023 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 13 Nov 2023 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £284,400 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEFRA NETWORK ETENDERING PORTAL |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 3JR |
| 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 |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | VWR INTERNATIONAL |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 33 - Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products

### Codes

- 33696500 - Laboratory reagents

## Release History

- 20 Nov 2023 at 09:44 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/034202-2023

## Notice URLs

- https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://uk.vwr.com
- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-procurement-review-service-scope-and-remit

## 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-041b1b. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-041b1b.json.