Cardiff University EMBED 3.0 formulation improvement direct award

Tender information last checkedLast checked 19 Oct 2026, 16:02.

Opportunity overview

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.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

ProMed Pharma, LLC

No match

Published award value: £187.6k
Awarded: Not supplied
Award ID: 1
Status: pending
Identifier: GB-PPON PRNX-3276-XWMG
Location: Minneapolis, US, MN 55311, United States

Classification

No classification was supplied.

Lots

Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

Transparency notice on Find a TenderOpen source ↗

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id: ocds-h6vhtk-078aee
Status: complete
Procurement Method: direct
Procurement Method Details: Direct award
Why this procedure was chosen: 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.
Published risks: Milestone payments ensure each improvement is completed to the satisfaction of the funder and customer before payment can be made.

Legal basis

Id: 2023/54
Scheme: UKPGA
Uri: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents ↗

Procedure reasons

Entry 1

Id: prototypesDevelopment

Lots and requirements

Entry 1

Id: 1
Status: complete

Published documents

Entry 1

Id: conflictOfInterest
Document Type: conflictOfInterest
Description: Not published

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1

Name: Cardiff University
Id: GB-PPON-PHVT-4343-HWYR

Identifier

Scheme: GB-PPON
Id: PHVT-4343-HWYR

Address

Street Address: Procurement Services
Locality: Cardiff
Postal Code: CF24 4HQ
Country: GB
Country Name: United Kingdom
Region: UKL22

Contact

Email: rower4@cardiff.ac.uk

Roles

buyer

Details

Url: http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/business/why-work-with-us/for-suppliers ↗

Classifications

Entry 1

Scheme: UK_CA_TYPE
Id: publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Description: Public authority - sub-central government

Entry 2

Scheme: UK_CA_DEVOLVED_REGULATIONS
Id: GB-WLS
Description: Welsh devolved regulations apply

Organisation 2

Name: ProMed Pharma, LLC
Id: GB-PPON-PRNX-3276-XWMG

Identifier

Scheme: GB-PPON
Id: PRNX-3276-XWMG

Address

Street Address: 6765 Wedgwood Road, Maple Grove, MN 55311 USA
Locality: Minneapolis
Postal Code: MN 55311
Country: US
Country Name: United States
Region: US

Contact

Email: info@ProMedPharmaLLC.com

Roles

supplier

Details

Scale: large
Vcse: No

Award information

Award 1

Id: 1
Title: EMBED 3.0 – Improvement of Formulations
Status: pending
Main Procurement Category: services
Above Threshold: Yes

Items

Item 1

Id: 1
Related Lot: 1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1

Scheme: CPV
Id: 73000000
Description: Research and development services and related consultancy services

Delivery locations

Entry 1

Region: UKL22
Country: GB
Country Name: United Kingdom

Value

Including VAT: 225,104
Amount: 187,587
Currency: GBP

Suppliers

Supplier 1

Id: GB-PPON-PRNX-3276-XWMG
Name: ProMed Pharma, LLC

Contract period

Starts: 2 Nov 2026, 00:00
Ends: 31 Dec 2026, 23:59

Related lots

Documents

Entry 1

Id: 098562-2026
Document Type: awardNotice
Notice Type: UK5
Description: Transparency notice on Find a Tender
Url: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098562-2026 ↗
Published: 19 Oct 2026, 14:44
Format: text/html

Milestones

Entry 1

Id: 1
Type: futureSignatureDate
Due: 30 Oct 2026, 23:59
Status: scheduled

Recorded locations

Buyer location · Cardiff · UKL22 · CF24 4HQ · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION

098562-2026Transparency notice on Find a Tender · 19 Oct 2026, 14:44

PROCURAAXIS AWARD ANALYSIS

Award outcome intelligence

Evidence-bound analysis of the published award appears below the official tender and award information.

ANALYSIS PREVIEW

Award intelligence at a glance

Cardiff University has published a transparency notice for a proposed direct award to ProMed Pharma, LLC for EMBED 3.0 formulation-improvement work supporting a possible later EMBED 4.0 human-trials stage. The award remains pending; the notice schedules signature for 30 October 2026.

Published outcome signals

Notice typeTransparency notice on Find a Tender (UK5)Evidence: Award document 098562-2026 is described as a "Transparency notice on Find a Tender".
Award statusPendingEvidence: Award 1 has status "pending".
Contract conclusionNot evidenced as concluded or signedEvidence: The award is pending and lists a future signature milestone scheduled for 30 October 2026.

95% approved-analysis confidence1 supplier record analysed4 source limitations

SOURCE AND FRESHNESS

Traceable procurement data

Source: Find a Tender
Notice reference: 098562-2026
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-078aee
First published: 19 Oct 2026
Last checked: 19 Oct 2026, 16:02
Notice versions reviewed: 1

View Find a Tender notice ↗

HOW THIS WAS PREPARED

Approved, evidence-bound analysis

ProcuraAxis structures information found in published procurement records, checks the result for consistency and publishes only approved analysis. Confidence describes the completeness and consistency of the available source information; it is not a guarantee of eligibility or contract award.

Analysis status: Approved for publication
Analysed: 19 Oct 2026

Read the analysis methodology →

AWARD OUTCOME

What happened

Published outcome

One pending above-threshold services award, valued at £187,587 excluding VAT (£225,104 including VAT), is allocated to ProMed Pharma, LLC.

Market significance

The notice evidences continuity procurement for specialist prototype and formulation-development work, with the buyer citing the supplier’s prior role and familiarity with novel equipment.

AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS

1 supplier record analysed

ProMed Pharma, LLC

99% confidence

Award 1 · Lots 1 · 187587 GBP · Pending award

View supporting evidence

Award 1 names ProMed Pharma, LLC as supplier, relates to lot 1, and has status pending. £187,587 is the single award value, not a signed-contract value.

LIFECYCLE

Award or contract stage

Notice type

99% confidence

Transparency notice on Find a Tender (UK5)

View supporting evidence

Award document 098562-2026 is described as a "Transparency notice on Find a Tender".

Award status

99% confidence

Pending

View supporting evidence

Award 1 has status "pending".

Contract conclusion

99% confidence

Not evidenced as concluded or signed

View supporting evidence

The award is pending and lists a future signature milestone scheduled for 30 October 2026.

Lot status

95% confidence

Complete

View supporting evidence

Tender lot 1 has status "complete".

VALUES

Published values explained

Award value excluding VAT

99% confidence

£187,587

View supporting evidence

Award 1 value.amount is 187587 GBP.

Award value including VAT

99% confidence

£225,104

View supporting evidence

Award 1 value.amountGross is 225104 GBP.

Value allocation

95% confidence

Allocated to the single pending award; no separate lot value published

View supporting evidence

One award is supplied for lot 1; the lot record contains no value.

TIMELINE

Procurement timeline

Notice published

99% confidence

19 October 2026

View supporting evidence

The UK5 award-notice document was published 2026-10-19T14:44:20+01:00.

Scheduled signature date

99% confidence

30 October 2026

View supporting evidence

Award 1 milestone type futureSignatureDate is due 2026-10-30T23:59:59+00:00 and scheduled.

Planned contract period

98% confidence

2 November 2026 to 31 December 2026

View supporting evidence

Award 1 contractPeriod lists startDate 2026-11-02 and endDate 2026-12-31.

Planned duration

93% confidence

About 2 months

View supporting evidence

Calculated from the published planned contract period; this is not evidence that the contract has started.

SCOPE

What was awarded

Requirement

99% confidence

EMBED 3.0 – Improvement of Formulations

View supporting evidence

Tender and award title.

Service category

99% confidence

Research and development services and related consultancy services (CPV 73000000)

View supporting evidence

Award item classification.

Stated purpose

96% confidence

Additional formulation batches and improvements intended to strengthen medication delivery and increase viability for a potential human-trials next stage.

View supporting evidence

Tender description.

Delivery location

96% confidence

UKL22, United Kingdom

View supporting evidence

Award item delivery address is region UKL22, GB.

PROCEDURE

Procedure and competition

Procurement method

99% confidence

Direct award

View supporting evidence

Tender procurementMethod is direct and procurementMethodDetails is "Direct award".

Direct-award rationale

98% confidence

The buyer states that ProMed helped develop the technology, knows the novel/prototype equipment, and that changing supplier at this point would be unfeasible.

View supporting evidence

Published procurementMethodRationale.

Rationale classification

98% confidence

Prototype development

View supporting evidence

procurementMethodRationaleClassifications includes "prototypesDevelopment".

Competition information

99% confidence

No bid count, competing suppliers, evaluation scores or comparative pricing information supplied.

View supporting evidence

Information not supplied in the published notice data.

CONTRACT TERMS

Published contract terms

Payment approach

96% confidence

Milestone payments

View supporting evidence

Tender riskDetails states that milestone payments are conditional on improvements being completed to the satisfaction of the funder and customer.

Extension or renewal terms

99% confidence

Unknown

View supporting evidence

Information not supplied in the published notice data.

Contract signature

99% confidence

Scheduled, not evidenced as completed

View supporting evidence

A futureSignatureDate milestone is scheduled for 30 October 2026; award status is pending.

COMMERCIAL VIEW

Commercial observations

Continuity supplier rationale

94% confidence

The direct award is justified on technical continuity and familiarity with prototype equipment rather than a published competitive comparison.

View supporting evidence

Published procurementMethodRationale; no competition metrics supplied.

Performance-risk control

95% confidence

The stated milestone-payment arrangement links payment to completion satisfactory to both funder and customer.

View supporting evidence

Tender riskDetails.

Pipeline signal

93% confidence

The work is positioned as preparatory activity for a potential EMBED 4.0 human-trials stage, not confirmation that that stage will proceed.

View supporting evidence

Tender description says the project is likely to be taken forward and refers to a potential next stage.

ANALYSIS QUALITY

95%overall confidence

Confidence reflects the completeness and consistency of the published award data.

Reference: ocds-h6vhtk-078aee
Analysed: 19 Oct 2026

APPROVED AWARD ANALYSIS

BUYER CONTEXT

Buyer context

Buyer

99% confidence

Cardiff University

View supporting evidence

Buyer party named Cardiff University.

Buyer classification

98% confidence

Public authority – sub-central government; Welsh devolved regulations apply

View supporting evidence

Buyer party classifications.

Funding context

94% confidence

The notice states that the additional work has again been funded by the B&M Gates Foundation.

View supporting evidence

Tender description.

SUPPLIER CONTEXT

Supplier context

Supplier

99% confidence

ProMed Pharma, LLC

View supporting evidence

Supplier party and award supplier both name ProMed Pharma, LLC; GB-PPON identifier PRNX-3276-XWMG.

Supplier location

94% confidence

Minneapolis, United States

View supporting evidence

Supplier party address lists locality Minneapolis and country United States.

Published supplier scale

95% confidence

Large

View supporting evidence

Supplier party details records scale as large.

Relationship context

96% confidence

The buyer states the supplier previously helped develop the EMBED 3.0 technology.

View supporting evidence

Published procurementMethodRationale.

RENEWAL OUTLOOK

Renewal outlook

99% confidence

No renewal or extension option published

View supporting evidence

Information not supplied in the published notice data.

End-date reference

97% confidence

31 December 2026 planned end date

View supporting evidence

Award 1 contractPeriod endDate is 2026-12-31. This supports only a timing reference, not a renewal forecast.

DATA QUALITY

Gaps and source limitations

Pending status materially limits conclusion

99% confidence

This is a pending award notice, not evidence of a signed, active or completed contract.

View supporting evidence

Award 1 status is pending and signature is scheduled for a future date.

Supplier identity coverage

98% confidence

Supplier identity is recorded through a GB-PPON identifier; Companies House verification is not applicable to this supplier record.

View supporting evidence

Supplier verification status is not_applicable; supplier identifier is GB-PPON PRNX-3276-XWMG.

Unpublished commercial detail

99% confidence

Information not supplied in the published notice: tender deadline, bid count, evaluation, award decision date, lot title, individual lot value, renewal terms and pricing breakdown.

View supporting evidence

Relevant supplied fields are null or absent.

Conflict-of-interest publication

99% confidence

Conflict-of-interest document is marked not published.

View supporting evidence

Tender documents lists conflictOfInterest with description "Not published".

SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS

Information not supplied in the published notice

The published record is a pending award with a scheduled future signature date; it does not establish that a contract was signed, started or completed.
Information not supplied in the published notice: bid count, competing suppliers, evaluation results, award decision date, lot title, lot-level value, pricing breakdown, and renewal or extension terms.
The planned contract dates are published against a pending award and may not represent an executed contract period.
The conflict-of-interest document is identified as not published.

MARKET THEMES

Relevant award themes

COMMON QUESTIONS

About this award

Who is the named supplier for Cardiff University's EMBED 3.0 award?

The pending award names ProMed Pharma, LLC.

What is the value of the EMBED 3.0 pending award?

The published award value is £187,587 excluding VAT and £225,104 including VAT.

Has the EMBED 3.0 contract been signed?

The notice does not evidence a signed contract. The award is pending and lists a scheduled signature date of 30 October 2026.

Why was a direct award used?

Cardiff University says the supplier previously helped develop the technology and is familiar with the novel/prototype equipment.

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.

EMBED 3.0 - Improvement of Formulations

Opportunity overview

Awarded to

ProMed Pharma, LLC

Classification

Lots

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Scope, procedure and submissions

Legal basis

Procedure reasons

Lots and requirements

Published documents

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Identifier

Address

Contact

Roles

Details

Classifications

Identifier

Address

Contact

Roles

Details

Award information

Items

Additional Classifications

Delivery locations

Value

Suppliers

Contract period

Related lots

Documents

Milestones

Recorded locations

Notice and amendment history

Award intelligence at a glance

Published outcome signals

Traceable procurement data

Approved, evidence-bound analysis

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