Finland - TSE rapid test kits and maintenance contract for TSE testing equipment

This is a prior information notice. This is not a procurement announcement, we are not requesting tender yet. The purpose of this Prior information notice is to identify potential suppliers operating in the market and their offerings. Responding or not responding to this Prior information notice does not prevent participation in a possible future tender. This Prior information notice does not obligate the contracting authority to carry out an actual procurement procedure. All information presented in this Prior information notice is preliminary and indicative. SUBJECT OF PROCUREMENT: The subject of the procurement is to provide TSE rapid test kits and a maintenance contract for the existing testing equipment and equipment software used for TSE testing to perform the national TSE testing of cattle, sheep, goat and cervid. The tests are performed in the Finnish Food Authority’s TSE laboratory in Helsinki, Finland.As part of this market consultation, Finnish Food Authority aims to determine whether there are suppliers on the market who are able to provide TSE rapid test kits and maintenance services compatible with the current TSE testing equipment. If the market consultation indicates that no TSE rapid tests or maintenance services compatible with the existing equipment are available on the market, the aim of the consultation may also be to determine what types of equipment suppliers could offer for performing TSE testing.While precise numbers of samples to be tested in any 12 month period are not known, it is expected that approximately 13,000 tests are performed annually, corresponding to approximately 1,080 tests per month. The number of tests is an estimate and does not form any obligation for Finnish Food Authority to purchase that amount of supplies or grant the supplier an exclusive right to supply the goods. The existing equipment and equipment software used for TSE testing includes: - Bertin Technologies Precellys 24x2 - Grant PHMP Shaker Incubator x2 - BioTek ELx50 strip washer x2 - TECAN Infinite F50 Reader with Magellan Software - IDEXX X-chek Plus Software