PHSA 18339 - Tandem Mass Spec

Notice is hereby given that Provincial Health Services Authority (the “Health Authority”), intends to directly award a Contract to the following supplier to provide one (1) Tandem Mass Spectrometer for BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital at an estimated value of $556,289.52.

Waters Limited 232 Britannia Road East, Mississauga, ON L4Z 1S6

In accordance with applicable trade agreements, PHSA, has chosen not to proceed with a competitive process for the following reason:
• the goods or services can be supplied only by the selected supplier and no alternative or substitute exists for the following reason:
(a) to ensure compatibility with existing products/systems

The BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital’s current equipment used in the Newborn Screening Laboratory is no longer functional and requires immediate replacement. This instrument supports critical testing for approximately 45,000 newborns per year and also serves as the backup system for the laboratory’s main analyzer. Without a replacement, the program is at risk if the primary instrument fails.

All current tests have been developed and validated specifically on Waters technology, and staff are already trained on the Waters software, which is integrated with their laboratory information system. Replacing the unit with a different vendor’s instrument would require rebuilding and revalidating all tests, redesigning system interfaces, and retraining staff. This would take several months, require significant resources, and delay their ability to restore full testing capacity. For these reasons, Waters is the only vendor that can meet the program’s immediate clinical and operational needs.

Vendors who wish to challenge this decision should submit a detailed written objection for the attention of Rizette Cubias, Buyer by email to Rizette Cubias before 4:00pm Pacific Time, December 11, 2025. PHSA will review any and all issues received by this date and provide due consideration to each objection. Please Reference File: # PHSA 18339 on all written correspondence.