Leading corporate services provider, NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS), has launched a new framework agreement for the supply of Radiopharmaceutical Products, an essential component of nuclear medicine procedures, vital for earlier diagnosis, intervention and treatment of diseases like cancer.
Access to radiopharmaceuticals is pivotal to the NHS’s ambition of diagnosing 75% of cancers at stage 1 or 2 by 2028.
Cancer remains the UK’s biggest killer, responsible for one in four deaths. According to Cancer Research UK, one in two people will develop cancer in their lifetime, with new cases projected to rise by nearly a third to over half a million annually by 2040.
Improving survival rates, reducing patient backlogs
NHS SBS’s framework agreement gives NHS organisations across the UK access to a wide range of products including radiopharmaceutical kits, diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, technetium generators, krypton generators and 18F-FDG – useful for detecting cancer, cardiac conditions and neurological disorders like epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease.
Administered to patients for diagnostic imaging procedures like PET scans, radiopharmaceuticals facilitate non‑invasive, high‑resolution images that reduce the need for exploratory surgery, enabling faster clinical decisions, improving survival rates and reducing patient backlogs. Beyond diagnosis, they are also applied therapeutically, delivering targeted treatments that improve patient outcomes.
Quality assurance and supply continuity
“Our framework agreement covers a range of nuclear medicine products that are vital for the early diagnosis of cancer and other health conditions, all of which are available from pre-vetted and fully compliant suppliers,” says Adam Connell, NHS SBS Category Manager – Health, NHS SBS.
“It provides quality assurance, ensuring all products and services on offer comply with the latest regulations, mitigating risks and protecting patients and customers.
“Critically, it ensures continuity of supply, allowing NHS organisations to place standing orders for scheduled deliveries with suppliers, to ensure uninterrupted product coverage.”
NHS SBS’s framework agreement runs from 12 November 2025 – 11 November 2033.
As an open framework, the tender will re-open at years three and five to encourage suppliers to offer their best prices to reflect the current market conditions.
For more information, contact the NHS SBS team at: sbs.hello@nhs.net
