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Romania’s largest medical university has launched a four-lot procurement for short‑read DNA sequencing platforms and related technologies under the national genomics programme. The Supply of Sequencing Systems will place equipment at seven sites to strengthen whole‑genome and RNA sequencing, targeted assays and microarray work across the country.

What is being bought

Universitatea de Medicina si Farmacie "Carol Davila" (UMF Carol Davila) is procuring synthesis-based short‑read sequencing systems using different detection methods, plus one platform with microarray capability. The purchase, part of the DEVELOPMENT OF GENOMIC RESEARCH IN ROMANIA (ROGEN) project, is structured into four lots:

Lot 1: Fluorescent-base, optical detection short‑read systems. Estimated lot value: 14,633,005.66 LEI. It combines high- and medium‑throughput instruments, a benchtop system for total human RNA and other applications, and two small‑capacity targeted sequencers. Itemised estimates include a top‑end platform “capable of analysing whole genomes in population studies” (6,226,149.00 LEI) and two medium‑high capacity whole‑genome systems (4,868,934.00 LEI total).
Lot 2: Short‑read synthesis system with electric (ionic) detection for human DNA.
Lot 3: Short‑read synthesis system using a secondary detection mechanism based on chemical interactions.
Lot 4: Small–medium capacity sequencing system with integrated microarray capabilities.

Each lot will be supplied and installed, providing a spread of platforms and chemistries. The mix suggests a drive to balance throughput, versatility and cost across research and translational workflows.

Where the systems will go

The procurement names seven beneficiaries, signalling a distributed network approach rather than a single national centre:

Research‑Development Institute in Genomics, Bucharest
"Ștefan S. Nicolau” Institute of Virology, Bucharest
University of Medicine and Pharmacy Craiova
“Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara
Ovidius University of Constanța
National Institute for Research‑Development in Pathology and Biomedical Sciences “Victor Babeș”, Bucharest
University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology “George Emil Palade”, Târgu Mureș

Placing equipment across multiple hubs should widen access for researchers and clinical collaborators, while building resilience and regional capacity for population studies, oncology, infectious disease and other applications referenced in the lot descriptions.

Procurement conditions and funding

The authority has initiated the process with a suspensive clause: contract signing is conditional on budget credits being allocated. This approach, grounded in national public procurement and public finance law, is a recurring feature in Romania’s laboratory tenders.

Similar standstill clauses appeared in earlier procurements. In November 2023, the National Institute of Public Health set out a comparable condition when it moved to expand sequencing and bioinformatics capacity under its PANDOMIC project, aimed at EU and ECDC genomic surveillance requirements (Laboratory equipment – 3 lots – PANDOMIC Project). Later that month, a genome sequencing laboratory purchase for the Marius Nasta Institute was also initiated under a suspensive clause linked to the extension of a health ministry‑financed programme (Full line WSG laboratory (genome sequencing) and related consumables).

For this new purchase, Lot 1 provides detailed cost ceilings down to equipment type, giving suppliers clear financial parameters. The other lots specify the detection method and capacity aims but do not state monetary values in the notice.

How this fits Romania’s genomics build‑out

The four lots focus on short‑read platforms, with optical, electric and chemically assisted detection. This complements other recent investments that target different parts of the genomics stack:

In September 2025, a separate tender in Iași sought an integrated long‑read NGS system with automated library preparation, pointing to a hybrid short‑ and long‑read ecosystem across sites (NGS Long-Read Sequencing System).
On the data side, in July 2025 an IT procurement within the same ROGEN programme looked to add high‑performance computing and big‑data capability for genomic research (Supply of IT Equipment).
In January 2025, the „Ștefan S. Nicolau” Institute of Virology — also a beneficiary under the present purchase — procured a range of genomic reagents and consumables for a ROGEN sub‑activity, underlining the programme’s operational track (Reagents and Consumables Procurement).
Hospitals are also upgrading for precision oncology and genetics. In May 2025, a county hospital in Constanța moved to acquire systems spanning next‑generation sequencing, Sanger and digital PCR to support diagnosis and treatment (Genetic Medical Equipment Supply).

Together, these notices sketch a national platform: short‑read instruments spread across academic and research centres, long‑read capability added in key locations, clinical adoption in hospitals, and computing plus consumables to keep workflows running.

European context

Romania’s plan aligns with a wider European refresh of sequencing infrastructure. In July 2024, a regional health authority in Italy ran a multi‑lot competition for complete NGS, SNP‑array and Array‑CGH systems, echoing the mix of short‑read sequencing and microarray features seen in Romania’s Lot 4 (NGS, SNP‑array, Array‑CGH Systems Supply). And in April 2025, a Belgian university sought high‑throughput sequencers across ultra‑long, long and short reads, with explicit maintenance options — a similar attempt to balance technology types and lifecycle support (High-Throughput Sequencers for GIGA).

These examples reinforce the shift towards mixed portfolios and distributed access, rather than single, centralised flagship purchases.

What to watch next

Key points to monitor:

Budget allocation and contract signature under the suspensive clause.
Final equipment mix across Lots 2–4, where financial ceilings are not stated in the notice.
Integration across the seven beneficiary sites, particularly interoperability with long‑read instruments and data platforms commissioned under related ROGEN procurements.
Uptake in clinical collaborations, given parallel investments in hospital genetics and oncology equipment.

If funding is confirmed, the new systems should quickly extend Romania’s short‑read capacity for whole‑genome studies, RNA work and targeted panels, anchoring a wider national genomics capability that has been building through 2024 and 2025.

Romania invests in multi-site short-read sequencing capacity