JOINT NORDIC TENDER TO STRENGTHEN SECURITY OF SUPPLY FOR CYTOSTATICS

In recent years, medicine shortages have become a growing problem worldwide. At Amgros, we are working on many fronts to address this challenge. Joint Nordic tenders are an important step in ensuring that patients continue to receive the treatments they need.  

That is why we have just published another joint Nordic tender together with Iceland and Norway - covering 13 selected cytostatics. 

Cytostatics are medicines that are often procured in small volumes. This can make it difficult to attract suppliers when each country tenders on its own. But by combining three smaller markets into one larger market, we create better conditions for stable deliveries and more bidders. 

- Security of supply is one of the biggest challenges we face in our healthcare systems - not only in the Nordics, but globally. When we join forces across national borders, we can create a more attractive market and improve the conditions for stable deliveries. That is why joint Nordic tenders are a part of our toolbox for ensuring the supply of medicines, says Flemming Sonne, CEO of Amgros.

To ensure robust deliveries, we have chosen to evaluate bids so that, this time, price accounts for only 30%. The remaining 70% relates to quality, sustainability and security of supply. 

Over the past seven years, Amgros, Norway and Iceland have worked with joint Nordic tenders as a strategic initiative to counter shortages of critical medicines - with good results.
 
- With fewer than 400,000 inhabitants, Iceland is a small market. That is why it is clearly an advantage for us to participate in joint Nordic tenders. Experience shows that by joining forces with Norway and Denmark, we become a more attractive market. This has clearly increased the number of bidders in Iceland, says Hulda Harðardóttir, Head of Procurement Department, Landspitali, Iceland.

To make our tenders as attractive as possible, Sykehusinnkjøp in Norway, Landspítali in Iceland and Amgros in Denmark have, over the years, offered suppliers the opportunity to hold joint dialogue meetings.

Fortunately, many of our suppliers have made use of this offer, and we would like to thank them for doing so. The more we understand each other, the easier it is to collaborate - and the more compelling tenders we can put together.

In the first years, the joint Nordic tenders included only Norway and Denmark, but Iceland quickly joined. More recently, Region Skåne has also accepted the invitation to take part in the joint Nordic tenders, and a region in Finland has shown interest as well.

- It has always been our wish to bring all the Nordic countries into the joint Nordic tenders. The more countries that join, the more attractive a market we become together. That is why we are very pleased that it now also looks like we will have Region Skåne and a region in Finland joining the joint Nordic tenders - and that next time we can publish tenders that include procurement organisations in five Nordic countries,” says Tommy Juhl, Divisjonsdirektør, Sykehus Innkjøp Norge. 

The deadline for submitting bids for the newly published joint Nordic tender is 12 May at 12:00.

Amgros already has joint Nordic agreements for 14 medicines - primarily antibiotics - selected because they face challenges with security of supply. With this new tender, we are expanding our efforts and continuing the work to ensure stable access to critical medicines for patients across the Nordics.
  
The agreements that the countries enter into with the winners of our tenders will enter into force on 1st October 2027.