---
title: "Purchase and installation of an automated pipetting system (incorporating a Tecan Freedom EVO 150cm liquid handler)"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-059d71"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-059d71"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-059d71.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-059d71.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST"
published: "2025-09-18"
---

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

Buyer: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-059d71

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## Summary

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.

## Notice

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.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/057848-2025 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 18 Sep 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 17 Sep 2025 |
| Contract period | 30 Sep 2025 - 31 Mar 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £206,615 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST |
| Locality | CAMBRIDGE |
| Post town | Cambridge |
| Postcode | CB2 0QQ |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH4 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough |
| ITL 3 | TLH42 Cambridgeshire CC |
| Local authority | Cambridge |
| Electoral ward | Queen Edith's |
| Westminster constituency | South Cambridgeshire |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | ILLUMINA CAMBRIDGE |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

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

## Release History

- 18 Sep 2025 at 15:18 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/057848-2025
- 18 Sep 2025 at 14:51 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/057820-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/057848-2025
  18th September 2025 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/057820-2025
  18th September 2025 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.illumina.com
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-059d71. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-059d71.json.