AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
NHS England has published a contract award notice naming Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT) as the proposed supplier for National Specialist Medicines Services (NSMS) 2027-30. The award covers lots 1 to 5 and has a stated net value of £27 million (£32.4 million gross).
Published outcomeAward announced/pending; the notice schedules a future signature date of 17 November 2026, so the supplied data does not establish a signed or active contract.
Market significanceThis is a national NHS medicines-services procurement spanning pharmacy services, medicines procurement, quality assurance, optimisation, safer medicines use and coordination.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT)
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 · £27,000,000 net; £32,400,000 gross shared award value GBP · Pending awardee
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Award 1 names Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT) as supplier, relates to lots 1–5, has pending status, and states amount £27,000,000 and amountGross £32,400,000.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Published award notice
99% confidence15 October 2026
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Award document 097403-2026 is dated 2026-10-15; release history identifies it as a Contract award notice on Find a Tender.
Award status
99% confidencePending
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Award 1 has status 'pending'.
Award decision date
98% confidence14 October 2026
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Award 1 date is 2026-10-14.
Standstill end
98% confidence26 October 2026, 23:59:59 UTC
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Award 1 standstillPeriod.endDate is 2026-10-26T23:59:59+00:00.
Future signature milestone
98% confidence17 November 2026
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Award milestone type futureSignatureDate is scheduled for 2026-11-17T23:59:59Z.
Planned core contract period
98% confidence1 April 2027 to 31 March 2030
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Award contractPeriod gives startDate 2027-04-01 and endDate 2030-03-31.
VALUES
Published values explained
Award value (net)
99% confidence£27,000,000
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Award 1 value.amount is 27000000 GBP.
Award value (gross)
99% confidence£32,400,000
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Award 1 value.amountGross is 32400000 GBP.
Opportunity maximum value
90% confidence£36,000,000
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Process value_max is 36000000 GBP.
Lot-level allocation
99% confidenceNot published
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Lots 1–5 have no individual value_amount; the single award covers all five lots.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Preliminary market engagement notice
99% confidence8 April 2026
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Release history records notice 031969-2026, published 2026-04-08.
Tender notice published
99% confidence29 May 2026
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Release history records notice 050788-2026, published 2026-05-29.
Tender submission deadline
98% confidence17 July 2026, 12:00 BST
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Process submission_deadline is 2026-07-17T12:00:00+01:00.
Award decision
98% confidence14 October 2026
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Award 1 date is 2026-10-14.
Award notice published
99% confidence15 October 2026
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Award notice document datePublished is 2026-10-15.
Scheduled future signature date
98% confidence17 November 2026
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Scheduled futureSignatureDate milestone is 2026-11-17.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Service
99% confidenceNational Specialist Medicines Services (NSMS) 2027-30
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Process title.
Service scope
99% confidenceSpecialist national services covering medicines procurement, quality assurance, medicines optimisation, safer medicines use and coordination.
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Process description.
Beneficiaries
98% confidenceNHS England and the wider NHS
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Process description states that NSMS supports NHS England and the wider NHS.
Classification
99% confidencePharmacy services (CPV 85149000)
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Each award item for lots 1–5 is classified as CPV 85149000, Pharmacy services.
Lots covered
99% confidenceLots 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
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Award 1 relatedLots and items reference all five lots.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceOpen procedure
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Process procurement_method_details is 'Open procedure'.
Legal basis
97% confidenceProcurement Act 2023 (2023 c.54)
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Tender legalBasis identifies UKPGA 2023/54.
Competition information
99% confidenceNot published in the supplied notice data
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No bid count, tenderer list beyond the named supplier, evaluation scores or ranking is supplied.
Award rationale
99% confidenceNot published in the supplied notice data
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No award rationale or assessment narrative is supplied.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Core term
98% confidence1 April 2027 to 31 March 2030
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Award contractPeriod startDate and endDate.
Extension option
98% confidenceUp to 12 further months, subject to approval
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Award renewal and options descriptions state an option to extend for a further 12 months subject to approval.
Maximum stated extent
98% confidence31 March 2031
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Award contractPeriod.maxExtentDate is 2031-03-31.
Contract conclusion
99% confidenceNot established
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The award remains pending and includes a scheduled future signature date; no signed-contract record is supplied.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Award structure
99% confidenceOne pending award covers all five lots
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Award 1 lists relatedLots 1–5 and one supplier.
Value interpretation
99% confidenceThe published £27 million net and £32.4 million gross figures apply to the combined award, not to individual lots.
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A single award value is supplied while individual lots have no values.
Market engagement
98% confidenceThe procurement was preceded by a preliminary market engagement notice.
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Release history records a planning notice dated 8 April 2026.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Pending award, not confirmed contract
99% confidenceThe award is pending and signature is only scheduled; it should not be represented as signed, concluded or active.
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Award status is pending and futureSignatureDate is scheduled for 17 November 2026.
Lot detail
99% confidenceLot titles, descriptions and individual values were not supplied in the published notice data.
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Lots 1–5 have null title, description and value_amount fields.
Competition and evaluation
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice: bid count, scores, ranking, evaluation narrative and award rationale.
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No such fields are present in the supplied data.
Date consistency
96% confidenceThe process-level tender notice publication timestamp is 29 May 2026, while the later award notice was published on 15 October 2026; no inconsistency is inferred because release history records distinct notices.
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Process published_at is 2026-05-29 and release history separately records award notice 097403-2026 on 2026-10-15.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The award is pending, with a scheduled future signature date; the supplied data does not confirm a signed, concluded or active contract.
- The single published award covers lots 1–5, but lot titles, descriptions and individual lot values are not supplied.
- The published award value is combined across all five lots and must not be allocated to a specific lot.
- Bid numbers, scoring, tender evaluation, ranking, pricing detail and award rationale are not supplied.
- No contract start confirmation is supplied; 1 April 2027 is a planned contract-period start date.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
National Specialist Medicines ServicesNSMS 2027-30NHS EnglandLiverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trustpharmacy servicesmedicines procurementFind a Tender award
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who is the named awardee for NSMS 2027-30?
The pending award notice names Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT).
Has the NSMS 2027-30 contract been signed?
The supplied data does not establish that it has been signed. The award is pending and a future signature date of 17 November 2026 is scheduled.
What is the published award value?
The combined award value is £27 million net and £32.4 million gross. No individual lot values are published.
ProcuraAxis award analysis supplements, but does not replace, the official award notice, contract data or procurement documents. “Awarded” does not by itself prove that a contract has been signed.