View full tender data: https://app.hermix.com/opportunities/ukfts_033144-2026

A framework agreement worth just over £1 billion across 96 months covering dose banded, patient specific and CIVAS cancer medicines alongside stock inventory management services, structured to serve NHS sites across South East, East Midlands and West Midlands England.

Mid South Essex NHS Foundation Trust has published a contract notice on the UK Find a Tender Service for a framework agreement covering the supply of aseptically prepared systemic anti-cancer therapy medicines. The estimated total value is €1,003,992,346.03 over a 96-month contract duration, structured across four lots. The short description confirms the framework covers batch-manufactured drugs in ready-to-administer presentations, patient-specific manufacturing and supply, CIVAS (Central Intravenous Additive Service), and stock inventory management. Two prior information notices were published in May and August 2025 before the formal contract notice appeared in April 2026, signalling an extended market engagement period.

Opportunity Overview

• Contracting Authority: Mid South Essex NHS Foundation Trust
• Buyer Type: Ministry or any other national or federal authority
• Main Activity: Unknown (as stated in the notice)
• Reference Number: PR-2264
• Document ID: ukfts_033144-2026
• Tender Title: Aseptically Prepared Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy Medicines
• Contact: Customer Care, customercare@htepg.com, 01268 524900

Scope of work, as stated in the notice:

• Supply of a range of aseptically prepared, batch manufactured systemic anti-cancer therapy drugs in ready-to-administer presentations and agreed dose bands
• Manufacturing and supply of patient specific systemic anti-cancer therapy drugs
• CIVAS (Central Intravenous Additive Service) requirements
• Stock inventory management and supply of compounded systemic anti-cancer therapy

Lot structure (shared framework value across all lots):

• Lot 1: Dose Banded Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy Medicines (€1,003,992,346.03): Dose banded aseptically prepared SACT medicines for adult and paediatric patients, supplied in batch or single units, in line with National Dose Banded Tables
• Lot 2: Patient Specific Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy Medicines (€1,003,992,346.03): Patient specific aseptically prepared anti-cancer therapy medicines for adult and paediatric patients
• Lot 3: CIVAS / Central Intravenous Additive Service (€1,003,992,346.03): Medicines used in CIVAs, including any preparation of medicine manipulated aseptically to create ready-to-use injectable medicine
• Lot 4: Stock Inventory Management and Supply of Compounded SACT Medicines (€1,003,992,346.03): Storage, warehousing, stock inventory management and stocking of batch SACT medicines for next-day or named day delivery

Note: The lot values shown are identical and represent the shared framework total of €1,003,992,346.03, not four separate contract values. The estimated total value for the framework is €1,003,992,346.03.

• Place of Performance (all lots): South East (England), East Midlands (England), West Midlands (England)
• Contract Type: Supplies
• Contract Duration: 96 months
• Procedure: Open
• Award Criteria (all lots): Technical Including Social Value (quality) 65%, Cost (cost) 35%
• Estimated Total Value: €1,003,992,346.03
• Publication Date: 13 April 2026
• Submission Deadline: 11 May 2026
• Tender Opening Date: 11 May 2026
• EU Funding: No
• Source: UK Find a Tender Service

Related notices:

• ukfts_024556-2025: Prior information notice, published 22 May 2025, Aseptically Prepared Dosebanded Medicines
• ukfts_048018-2025: Prior information notice, published 12 August 2025, Aseptically Prepared Dosebanded Medicines, value €789,239,286.08
• ukfts_033144-2026: Contract notice, published 13 April 2026, value €1,003,992,346.03

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Authority and Procurement Context

Mid South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is classified in the notice as a ministry or other national or federal authority, with main activity listed as Unknown. The contact details point to customercare@htepg.com, which indicates the procurement is being managed through an external procurement service rather than directly by the Trust itself. The contact number 01268 524900 is consistent with the Essex area.

The Hermix procurement footprint for this buyer shows the following:

• 78 contract awards across all categories, totalling €1.8 billion
• 5 renewals across all categories, totalling €838 million, of which 4 are classified as similar renewals worth €690 million
• 0 similar contract awards in the Hermix dataset for this specific buyer, meaning no prior awards in this category are tracked under this authority
• 1 currently open tender across all categories worth €148 million (this tender is the only open one; the context data shows 0 similar open tenders, suggesting the €148M figure relates to a different category)
• 15 similar prior notices totalling €3.2 billion, alongside 38 all prior notices worth €4.0 billion, the two 2025 PINs are part of this record

The wider market context shows 765 other buyers with similar projects, representing a combined value of €262 billion. This reflects the significant scale of aseptic SACT manufacturing and supply procurement across NHS and European health systems, even though this specific buyer has no similar contract awards on record in the Hermix view.

The two prior information notices published in May and August 2025 are strategically significant. The first PIN appeared in May 2025 without a value. The second PIN in August 2025 carried a value of €789,239,286.08. The contract notice published in April 2026 shows a higher estimated total of €1,003,992,346.03. This increase of approximately €214 million between the second PIN and the contract notice likely reflects scope adjustments or the inclusion of additional service elements during the market engagement period.

Competitive Landscape

The Hermix dataset shows zero similar contract awards for this buyer. There is no Winners of Similar Contracts table available in the published PDF. This is consistent with the context data, which records 0 similar contract awards at €0 for this contracting authority. The absence of a historical awards table means bidders cannot draw on buyer-level precedent data to benchmark their competitive position or pricing against prior suppliers.

What the data does confirm is the scale of the wider SACT and aseptic medicines supply market. Hermix tracks 765 other buyers with similar projects worth €262 billion, and this buyer has 15 similar prior notices on record totalling €3.2 billion. The 4 similar renewals worth €690 million in the dataset also signal that comparable contracts in this space are regularly reaching renewal stage across the NHS. That renewable pipeline is a direct indicator of long-term commercial opportunity for qualified aseptic suppliers beyond this specific tender.

In the absence of buyer-specific contractor history, suppliers evaluating this opportunity should look at the broader NHS aseptic SACT supply market to identify likely competitors. The market for aseptically prepared oncology medicines in the UK is a specialist segment dominated by a small number of licensed aseptic manufacturing units, either NHS in-house units or commercial specials manufacturers licensed by the MHRA. The lot structure here (dose banded, patient specific, CIVAS, inventory management) maps directly to the standard service lines offered by established NHS aseptic services and commercial contract manufacturers in this space.

Commercial and Procedural Signals

Award criteria. All four lots use an identical weighting: Technical Including Social Value 65%, Cost 35%. The 65% quality weighting is high for a pharmaceuticals supply contract, signalling that the buyer places significant emphasis on technical capability, regulatory compliance, and social value credentials alongside price. Bidders should invest substantially in the quality response, particularly around GMP compliance, aseptic manufacturing capacity, quality management systems, and social value delivery.

Procedure. The procurement uses the standard Open procedure. Any qualified supplier may submit an offer without a pre-qualification stage. Given the regulatory complexity of aseptic manufacturing and oncology pharmacy, the effective qualification barrier is set by the technical requirements within the full tender documentation rather than by the procedural route itself.

Geographic coverage. All four lots specify the same place of performance: South East England, East Midlands England, and West Midlands England. This is a meaningful geographic constraint, covering NHS sites across a substantial swathe of central and southern England. Suppliers without existing distribution and cold-chain infrastructure across these three regions will need to address logistics capability explicitly in their submission.

Contract duration. The 96-month (8-year) duration is long for a pharmaceutical supplies framework. This signals a preference for supply security and relationship continuity over short-term competitive cycling. An 8-year contract in the SACT space requires manufacturers to demonstrate stable production capacity, regulatory standing, and pricing stability over the full term.

Submission window. From publication on 13 April 2026 to deadline on 11 May 2026, bidders have 28 calendar days. The tender opening is also 11 May 2026. For a technically complex aseptic pharmaceutical supply framework of this size, 28 days is very tight. Suppliers without pre-existing preparation from the 2025 PIN engagement period will face a significant challenge assembling a compliant and competitive response within this window.

Shared lot values. The four lots all carry the same estimated value of €1,003,992,346.03. This is the shared framework total, not a separate value per lot. Bidders should not interpret this as the framework being worth four times the headline figure.

Strategic Context and Interpretation

The procurement timeline tells a deliberate story. The first prior information notice appeared in May 2025, nearly a full year before the contract notice deadline. A second PIN followed in August 2025, this time with a value attached. The contract notice arrived in April 2026. This extended engagement window, spanning almost 12 months from first PIN to submission deadline, is characteristic of high-value, technically complex NHS framework procurements where the buyer wants to ensure the market is adequately prepared before receiving bids.

The jump in value from €789 million (August 2025 PIN) to €1,004 million (April 2026 contract notice) is worth noting. The €214 million increase may reflect scope expansion across the four lots, revised volume estimates, or the formalisation of the full 96-month contract term in the estimated total. Suppliers who engaged with the 2025 PIN process will have been tracking these changes and refining their commercial and technical positions over the intervening months.

The three-region place of performance (South East, East Midlands, West Midlands) positions this as a sub-national but multi-trust framework. Mid South Essex NHS Foundation Trust appears to be acting as the lead contracting authority, potentially on behalf of NHS sites across the covered geography. The htepg.com contact domain suggests the procurement is administered through a specialist NHS pharmacy procurement or tendering body, which is consistent with the complexity of SACT medicines contracting.

Hermix users analysing this tender can access this competitive intelligence instantly, including detailed contractor profiles, authority spending patterns, and the full renewal pipeline, in minutes rather than hours.

Practical Takeaways for Bidders

Who this tender suits:

• MHRA-licensed aseptic manufacturing units, whether NHS in-house or commercial contract manufacturers, with current GMP accreditation and capacity across dose banded and patient specific SACT production
• Specialist oncology pharmacy and aseptic services companies with established NHS supply relationships and the regulatory standing to supply unlicensed specials or licensed aseptically prepared products
• Suppliers with cold-chain logistics and distribution capability covering South East, East Midlands and West Midlands England, capable of delivering next-day or named day to multiple NHS sites
• Organisations able to demonstrate a credible social value offer alongside technical capability, given the 65% quality weighting that explicitly includes social value in the scoring criteria

Critical attention points:

• Submission deadline is 11 May 2026, giving only 28 calendar days from publication. Tender opening is also 11 May 2026. Mobilise the bid team immediately, suppliers without prior preparation from the 2025 PIN engagements are at a significant disadvantage
• The award criteria weighting is Technical Including Social Value 65%, Cost 35% across all four lots. Invest the majority of bid resource in the quality response, not price modelling
• The four lot values shown (each €1,003,992,346.03) are the shared framework total, not separate values. The framework is worth approximately €1 billion in total, not €4 billion
• Place of performance covers three English regions. Demonstrate distribution and cold-chain coverage across South East, East Midlands and West Midlands England explicitly in the submission
• The 96-month duration requires credible evidence of long-term manufacturing capacity, stable pricing mechanisms, and regulatory compliance over an 8-year horizon
• Review both 2025 prior information notices (ukfts_024556-2025 and ukfts_048018-2025) for any market engagement requirements or pre-qualification steps that may have preceded the formal tender

Closing

This procurement sits at the intersection of oncology pharmacy, NHS supply chain and aseptic manufacturing, a specialist segment where regulatory standing, production capacity and supply security matter as much as price. The 96-month duration and the 65% quality weighting reflect a buyer that is prioritising reliability over cost minimisation. For qualified aseptic SACT suppliers, the extended PIN timeline means the preparation window has been open for nearly a year. The 28-day submission window from the contract notice means that window is now closing fast.

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