RE: Oh dear15 Oct 2021 10:50
Bit of background on the lab in question: -
The Government awarded a £119 million contract to “develop volume” for Coronavirus testing to a new firm that appears to specialise in DNA analysis.
In mid-October 2020, the EU contracts portal released the Government deal, awarded to Immensa Health Clinic Limited. Granted without a standard tender process, the contract demanded the “urgent” development of volume for ‘PCR’ testing.
PCR testing is the standard way, at present, that individuals are tested for COVID-19 in the UK. These tests require clinical expertise and lab capacity to analyse, though are considered the “gold standard” of accuracy.
However, like the Coronavirus, Immensa Health Clinic doesn’t appear to have been around for very long. Companies House records show that the firm was incorporated on 18 May this year – months after the onset of the pandemic.
Strangely, the EU database doesn’t list a start date for the PCR testing contract so it is unclear how soon the deal was awarded after the inception of the company. However, the database does provide the completion date of the contract as 7 September.
Therefore, even if the contract began the week before its completion (in itself highly unlikely), Immensa Health Clinic would have only been in existence for roughly three months before it was awarded a £119 million Government contract.