Origin Ltd. is pleased to announce it has been accepted into the new national public health procurement scheme, designed to help grow capacity, push innovation and build resilience within the microbiology supply chain.

Origin Healthcare Services will be included in the Framework Agreements under Public Health England’s National Microbiology Framework for Lot 1 (Diagnostics Goods and Services) for an initial period of two years; with the option to extend by up to a further two years.

The framework is open to all UK Public Sector bodies including Public Health England, the Department of Health and Social Care, Public Health Wales, Public Health Scotland, NHS Authorities and Trusts, Special Health Authorities, Local Authorities and any other NHS entity or successor body. The framework can also be accessed by academic and charitable institutions.

Lot 1 of the Framework Agreement is worth, in total, £3bn to multiple successful bidders and relates to:

1. The supply of diagnostics Goods for the qualitative / quantitative examination of specimens / samples and the development or manufacturing of assays / kits / medication and related Services.
2. the supply of diagnostics Services for the qualitative / quantitative examination of specimens / samples or the development or manufacturing of assays / kits / medication including end to end testing Services.

Being accepted into the PHE framework will help Origin Ltd. grow its public sector client bases and benefit UK public sector organisations in need of high-quality pharma services.

Under the scheme, Origin Ltd. plans to provide dedicated packaging (in the form of transport tubes for the COVID-19 testing regime) and applicable aseptic facilities.

As part of the framework, Origin Ltd. will be alerted if an entity within the public sector wants to connect with its pricing schedule. The Framework allows Origin Ltd. to issue call-offs (individual contracts) via the direct award or mini-competition route in order to procure goods and services in line with the Public Contracts Regulations (PCR) 2015.

Recently, Origin has invested in a market-leading aseptic filling facility at its HQ in Yorkshire, which includes seven ISO 5 (Class 100) cleanroom environments and an ISO 7 (Class 10,000) packaging hall.

This state-of-the-art liquid filling facility has been specifically designed to meet and surpass the stringent regulations laid out by ISO standards, ensuring that it consistently provides suitable and versatile environments for aseptic filling.

Rich Quelch, Global Head of Marketing at Origin commented:

“Being accepted into PHE’s National Microbiology Framework is a testament to Origin’s continued investment in the UK’s pharmaceutical infrastructure and capabilities, our packaging innovation and expertise, and long-standing reputation built up over the past 55 years.

“As a partner, we’re incredibly proud to support the PHE, NHS and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) as the UK scales its testing capabilities to a world-leading level”