---
title: "Metagenomic Profiling of Gut Microbiome IID3: New Perspectives Infectious Intestinal Disease"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-077f18"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-077f18"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077f18.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077f18.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Food Standards Agency"
published: "2026-10-01"
---

# Metagenomic Profiling of Gut Microbiome IID3: New Perspectives Infectious Intestinal Disease

Buyer: Food Standards Agency  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-077f18

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## Summary

The Food Standards Agency commissioned scientific research to analyse faecal samples from the Third Study of Infectious Intestinal Disease (IID3), alongside other relevant datasets. The work uses metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analysis to improve understanding of the causes of infectious intestinal disease and to characterise the prevalence and diversity of antimicrobial-resistance and virulence genes in IID samples. This is a research and development services requirement. The FSA works across England, Wales and Northern Ireland; the procurement lists delivery in the United Kingdom.

The procurement is complete and was awarded to the University of Liverpool. The award is dated 1 October 2026 and is valued at £599,688.74 excluding VAT (£719,626.49 including VAT). The contract period runs from 19 October 2026 to 19 October 2028, with an optional six-month extension, up to 18 April 2029. It was a direct award, justified by technical reasons and the absence of a reasonable alternative supplier, as well as compatibility or additional services from an existing supplier. The procurement was a single lot, marked suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises. No evaluation criteria are stated.

For future work of this kind, credible suppliers will need to demonstrate the ability to conduct metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses of faecal samples and integrate findings with relevant datasets. The research requires expertise in infectious intestinal disease, microbiome analysis, antimicrobial-resistance and virulence genes, alongside the laboratory capacity and validated analytical methods to deliver reliable results. Suppliers should be equipped to manage sample representativeness, availability and quality, and to respond to method-development needs and changes in the sampling plan. The FSA’s selection of a university through a direct award justified by technical reasons and compatibility indicates that relevant specialist capability and fit with existing work mattered in this procurement. Strong project management, including mitigation of delivery, budget, data-quality and stakeholder risks, is also relevant to this buyer’s research requirement.

## Notice

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is an independent Government department working across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to protect public health and consumers wider interest in food. We make sure food is safe and what it says it is. The FSA are looking to appoint a supplier to deliver a research project to undertake metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses of faecal samples generated as part of The Third Study of Infectious Intestinal Disease (IID3), alongside other relevant datasets. The study aims to improve our understanding of the causes of IID and to characterise the prevalence and diversity of antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes in IID samples. The contract will run for a period of 24 months, with an optional 6-month extension period if required. The maximum budget assigned for this project is PS600,000, excluding VAT.

### Procurement Information

A Direct Award is justified for this procurement based on the conditions permitted under the Procurement Act 2023, specifically the Schedule 5 Sch. 5 para 6 "technical reasons / no reasonable alternative supplier" and "compatibility / additional services from existing supplier" justifications.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093049-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 1 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 1 Oct 2026 |
| Contract period | 19 Oct 2026 - 19 Oct 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £599,688 |
| 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 | Food Standards Agency |
| Locality | YORK |
| Postcode area | York |
| Postcode | YO1 7PR |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber |
| ITL 2 | TLE2 North Yorkshire |
| ITL 3 | TLE21 York |
| Local authority | York |
| Electoral ward | Guildhall |
| Westminster constituency | York Central |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

## Release History

- 1 Oct 2026 at 17:24 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093049-2026
- 1 Oct 2026 at 17:16 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093046-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093049-2026
  1st October 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093046-2026
  1st October 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.food.gov.uk/
- 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-077f18. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077f18.json.