FOI – 000154 NHS Scotland tender title 42550 – Fingolimod Capsules (HTML)

Date received – 28 June 2022 | Date responded – 26 July 2022

Request

Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 we kindly request access to the documents listed below held by NHS Scotland, in the context of the ongoing and anticipated NHS tenders for/ including the supply of the medicinal product “fingolimod 0.5 mg capsules”.

Relevant tender:

NHS Scotland (tender title: tt_42550 – Fingolimod Capsules)

Documents requested:

• Any communications (letter, email, etc.) from Novartis or other entities affiliated to this company (or authorised representative of) to NHS Scotland regarding the supply of the medicinal product fingolimod 0.5 mg capsules under the tender listed above.
• Any response (letter, email, etc.) from NHS Scotland to Novartis or other entities affiliated to this company (or authorised representative of) regarding the supply of the medicinal product fingolimod 0.5 mg capsules under the tender listed above.
• Minutes of (face-to-face, virtual or telephone) meetings between NHS Scotland and Novartis or other entity affiliated to this company (or authorised representative of) regarding the supply of the medicinal product fingolimod 0.5 mg capsules under the tender listed above.
• Please provide any relevant documents dating from 1 January 2022 until now, in the form of electronic copies.

Response

I refer to your freedom of information request that we received on 28 June 2022 requesting the following information.

Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 we kindly request access to the documents listed below held by NHS Scotland, in the context of the ongoing and anticipated NHS tenders for/ including the supply of the medicinal product “fingolimod 0.5 mg capsules”.

Relevant tender:

NHS Scotland (tender title: tt_42550 – Fingolimod Capsules)

Documents requested:

• Any communications (letter, email, etc.) from Novartis or other entities affiliated to this company (or authorised representative of) to NHS Scotland regarding the supply of the medicinal product fingolimod 0.5 mg capsules under the tender listed above.
• Any response (letter, email, etc.) from NHS Scotland to Novartis or other entities affiliated to this company (or authorised representative of) regarding the supply of the medicinal product fingolimod 0.5 mg capsules under the tender listed above.
• Minutes of (face-to-face, virtual or telephone) meetings between NHS Scotland and Novartis or other entity affiliated to this company (or authorised representative of) regarding the supply of the medicinal product fingolimod 0.5 mg capsules under the tender listed above.
• Please provide any relevant documents dating from 1 January 2022 until now, in the form of electronic copies.

I can advise you that we have now completed the search of our records and can provide you with the following information.

Please find below list of appendices (attached) we have been able to locate in relation to communications between National Procurement (NP) and Novartis Pharmaceuticals regarding Fingolimod Capsules tender.

Some of the documentation includes personal data of third parties, specifically, names of individuals which have not been released into the public domain on any previous FOIs or literature regarding this topic. Where this is the case, these names and contact details have been redacted in line with (Section 38 (1) (b)) of the FOISA.

• Appendix 1 – Novartis Bravo Messages (Redacted)
• Appendix 2 – RE: fingolimod (Redacted)
• Appendix 3 – RE: Tendering Overview (Redacted)
• Appendix 4 – RE: Fingolimod Price – Novartis (Redacted)
• Appendix 5 – Gilenya (Fingolimod)
• Appendix 6 – RE: Gilenya (Fingolimod) (Redacted)

I trust you will find the information of assistance and if you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact us.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of how we have dealt with your request you can make representations to us asking us to review the handling of your request.

If you require any further information please contact Associate Director Information Security & Governance, within 40 working days of the date of this correspondence.

Contact

Address

If after a review you are still unhappy, you also have the right to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner, who can be contacted at Kinburn Castle, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS, or via their application form.

National Services Scotland (NSS) is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. You can view all FOI responses within our FOI Publications repository.