DHSC:OLS_Liquid Biopsy Testing and its Impact in Primary Care

DHSC (Department of Health) and OLS (Office for Life Sciences) is seeking to commission a supplier that will conduct a research project to understand the clinical impact of liquid biopsy tests on the early diagnosis of cancer in symptomatic patients presenting with abdominal symptoms in primary care. We anticipate that delivery will require a tripartite consortium comprising an independent evaluator and a liquid biopsy provider, with the capability to identify, establish, and manage engagement with point-of-care settings (NHS) for patient recruitment and participation.

The Office for Life Sciences seeks to run a market engagement to assess the number of liquid biopsy providers with diagnostic tests at a later stage of development, with published evidence of efficacy in patients with suspected cancer symptoms. This research project would act as a use case for the OLS’ Cancer Healthcare Goals programme when developing future funding competitions which aim to address a market failure in the evaluation of cancer diagnostic and therapeutic technologies in the latter stages of development.

This initial market questionnaire aims to, at a high level, understand the scale, knowledge and capability of the market along with what appetite there is for delivering this service. DHSC/OLS would like to use this market engagement to inform the specification for commissioning a supplier for what is an anticipated 18-month contract.

This is not a call for competition, but an opportunity to gather feedback to better understand market capabilities, refine the procurement strategy, and encourage supplier engagement. Interested parties can access the relevant documents via the Atamis system at https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome using the contract reference. Suppliers may also submit the completed questionnaire through Atamis but must be registered on the system to do so.