---
title: "EMBED 3.0 - Improvement of Formulations"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-078aee"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078aee"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078aee.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078aee.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Cardiff University"
published: "2026-10-19"
---

# EMBED 3.0 - Improvement of Formulations

Buyer: Cardiff University  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-078aee

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## Summary

Cardiff University commissioned research and development services to improve formulations for the EMBED project. The work involves producing additional batches and improving the medication delivery method, with the aim of making delivery into patients more viable and supporting a possible later stage involving human trials. The work is for the university’s research project and is funded by the B&M Gates Foundation. The delivery location is recorded as the United Kingdom.

The procurement is complete and ProMed Pharma, LLC was selected through a direct award. The university says the supplier had helped develop the technology and was familiar with the novel prototype equipment, making a change of supplier unfeasible at this stage. The award value is £187,587 excluding VAT (£225,104 including VAT). The contract period runs from 2 November to 31 December 2026. The award is recorded as pending, and a signature was scheduled for 30 October 2026. The work is one lot. Milestone payments are conditional on each improvement being completed to the satisfaction of the funder and university. No separate scored evaluation criteria are described.

For suppliers considering comparable future work for Cardiff University, this award shows demand for specialist research and development on pharmaceutical formulation and medication delivery, including development of additional batches and refinement of a novel prototype. A credible competitor would need to demonstrate relevant technical expertise and the ability to improve a delivery method for potential use in patients. Experience with prototype equipment and continuity with the technology are particularly important: the university selected the incumbent because of its prior development work and familiarity with the equipment. Suppliers would also need to deliver defined improvements to the satisfaction of both the funder and university, supporting milestone-based payment. The requirement was delivered by a large US-based pharmaceutical supplier.

## Notice

The B&M Gates Foundation (funder) have reviewed the work with the EMBED research team, undertaken with the manufacturer ProMed, and have decided that to push the EMBED 3.0 project into its next stage (EMBED 4.0 - Human Trials), they'll need to demonstrate their ability to vary the additional batches offer a more robust mechanism for the medications to enter patients. The additional work has been again funded by the foundation for the purpose of increasing the viability of the delivery method (technology developed as part of EMBED) - Previous direct award for the initial development via Regulation 41 - Schedule 5, para 2.

### Procurement Information

The company chosen has helped develop the technology as part of B&M Gates Foundation EMBED 3.0 project. The project is likely to be taken forward, however the funder has asked for some improvements to be made to increase the likelihood of success in a potential next stage entering human trials. We therefore must stay with the previously used company as they are familiar with the novel/prototype equipment, and moving at this point would be entirely unfeasible, even if there were alternatives available.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098562-2026 |
| Notice type | UK5 - Transparency Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 19 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 2 Nov 2026 - 31 Dec 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £187,587 |
| 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 | Cardiff University |
| Locality | CARDIFF |
| Postcode area | Cardiff |
| Postcode | CF24 4HQ |
| Country | Wales |
| ITL 1 | TLL Wales |
| ITL 2 | TLL5 South East Wales |
| ITL 3 | TLL52 Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan |
| Local authority | Cardiff |
| Electoral ward | Cathays |
| Westminster constituency | Cardiff South and Penarth |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | ProMed Pharma, LLC |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

## Release History

- 19 Oct 2026 at 14:44 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098562-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098562-2026
  19th October 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/business/why-work-with-us/for-suppliers
- 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-078aee. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078aee.json.