Public hospitals invest in new genetic diagnostics platforms

Public hospitals invest in new genetic diagnostics platforms

Procurement for advanced lab systems, including capillary electrophoresis and fluorescence microscopy, highlights expanding genetic diagnostics capacity.


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Szpital Uniwersytecki w Krakowie has launched a new contract for genetic diagnostics equipment, bringing together capillary electrophoresis, fluorescence imaging and automated pipetting with installation and staff training, in a move that underscores how hospital laboratories are scaling up for modern genomic analysis.

New genetic diagnostics platform in Kraków

On 17th November 2025, Szpital Uniwersytecki w Krakowie published a contract notice to equip its laboratory with a suite of systems for genetic diagnostics. The hospital is seeking a capillary electrophoresis platform, a device for assessing the quality and length of genetic material, a fluorescence microscope and a pipetting station, alongside installation, commissioning and training for the team that will run them.

Together, the equipment covers key stages in a typical genetic workflow: accurate sample preparation, separation and detection of genetic fragments, verification that material meets quality thresholds and visual examination under fluorescence.

From separation to imaging: what is being bought

According to the notice, the contract includes:

  • a capillary electrophoresis system,
  • a device for quality and length assessment,
  • a fluorescence microscope,
  • a pipetting station,
  • installation and commissioning of all equipment,
  • training for staff.

Capillary electrophoresis remains a central technology for separating DNA fragments and detecting specific markers. Coupling it with a dedicated quality and length assessment device allows laboratories to check that genetic material and prepared libraries fall within expected size ranges before analysis. The fluorescence microscope will support imaging-based diagnostics, while the pipetting station introduces automation into sample preparation, reducing manual handling and supporting reproducibility.

Installation and training built into the deal

The procurement goes beyond hardware. It explicitly requires installation and commissioning, ensuring the equipment is set up and tested on site, and includes staff training. For hospital laboratories, this combination is critical: complex systems such as fluorescence microscopes and automated pipetting stations demand specialised knowledge, while genetic workflows must be validated before results can be used for patient care or research.

Embedding training into the initial purchase can help laboratories bring new capabilities online more quickly and reduce the risk that instruments are used below their potential. It also opens space for suppliers to provide configuration and workflow advice as part of delivery, tying technical support closely to the equipment itself.

A wider wave of investment in genetic diagnostics

The Kraków contract sits within a wider pattern of investment in genetic and molecular diagnostics equipment across Europe’s public sector, with recent notices showing hospitals and research institutes building complementary platforms for sequencing, PCR, imaging and sample automation.

In May 2025, Uniwersyteckie Centrum Kliniczne im. prof. K. Gibińskiego Śląskiego Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Katowicach issued a tender for diagnostic reagents for genetic and molecular diagnostics. That contract combines the supply of mutation detection reagents with the rental of a real-time PCR analyser, underlining how laboratories are pairing consumables with access to advanced instruments.

Later in May 2025, Uniwersytecki Szpital Kliniczny w Poznaniu launched a major equipment purchase for its laboratory activities, covering a gel electrophoresis machine, a digital PCR system, a next generation sequencer, a Sanger sequencer and a device for optical genome mapping. This blend of established and newer technologies shows how hospital laboratories are retaining Sanger sequencing alongside newer platforms such as digital PCR, next generation sequencing and genome mapping.

Cancer programmes are also a clear driver. In October 2025, Uniwersytecki Szpital Kliniczny Nr 1 w Lublinie advertised a procurement of genetic diagnostics equipment under the National Oncology Strategy programme. The hospital is seeking a fluorescence microscope, a pipetting station, a nucleic acid isolation system, a thermocycler and laboratory information management software, linking investment in laboratory hardware directly to a long-term oncology plan.

Also in October 2025, Uniwersyteckie Centrum Kliniczne Warszawskiego Uniwersytetu Medycznego published a notice for genetic diagnostics equipment that includes a capillary electrophoresis system, a real-time PCR thermocycler with CE IVD certification and a device for assessing the quality and length of libraries, again in the framework of the National Oncology Strategy. The overlap with the Kraków contract is clear, with both procured sets centring on capillary electrophoresis, fluorescence-based tools and quality control instrumentation.

By November 2025, Uniwersytecki Szpital Kliniczny im. Jana Mikulicza-Radeckiego we Wrocławiu had joined this trend with its own order for genetic diagnostics equipment, focused on acquiring a fluorescence microscope and a next-generation sequencer for a laboratory dedicated to genetic diagnostics. Together, these Polish notices point to a broad push to equip university hospitals with comparable genetic testing capabilities.

Beyond Poland, research institutes and hospitals across Europe are making similar moves. In June 2025, the Spanish research body Secretaría General de la Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas published a call for a high-performance electrophoresis system for the López-Neyra Institute of Parasitology and Biomedicine. The contract covers the supply and installation of an automated fluorescence capillary electrophoresis system for genomic applications, echoing Kraków’s decision to invest in capillary electrophoresis as a core technology.

In July 2025, the Emergency County Clinical Hospital "Saint Apostle Andrew" in Constanța, Romania, launched a multi-lot procurement to supply, install and commission advanced genetic medical equipment for its Pathological Anatomy and Medical Genetics Laboratory. The project is explicitly aimed at enhancing diagnostic capabilities and improving access to oncological treatment, underlining the role of genetic testing in modern cancer services.

In August 2025, Nemocnice Na Homolce in the Czech Republic released a tender for a capillary electrophoresis analyser that bundles supply, installation and commissioning with warranty, post-warranty support and a guaranteed flow of consumables for at least eight years. That long horizon highlights how public buyers view capillary electrophoresis as a stable, long-term component of their diagnostic infrastructure.

Integration, automation and skills

Across these procurements, three themes recur: integration of multiple technologies, growing automation and explicit provision for training and support.

  • Integration of methods: Tenders such as the Poznań equipment purchase combine gel electrophoresis, digital PCR, next-generation and Sanger sequencing, while the Lublin oncology procurement brings together microscopy, thermocyclers, nucleic acid isolation and informatics in one package.
  • Automation and throughput: Pipetting stations, automatic nucleic acid isolation systems and optical genome mapping devices, as seen in notices from Lublin and Poznań, point to laboratories seeking higher throughput and more consistent workflows.
  • Skills and support: Several contracts, including those in Kraków, Romania and Nemocnice Na Homolce, explicitly bundle installation, commissioning, training or long-term service into the purchase, recognising that expertise and maintenance are as important as the instruments themselves.

For suppliers, this shift presents opportunities beyond one-off sales, with buyers often looking for long-term partnerships around service, training and consumables. For public health systems, it raises questions about how to balance standardisation of equipment across sites with the flexibility individual laboratories need for specialised work.

Outlook

The Kraków procurement is at the contract-notice stage, but its scope – combining core instruments for genetic diagnostics with implementation and training – illustrates where hospital laboratories are heading. Upcoming award decisions, in Poland and across Europe, will show which suppliers can offer integrated platforms and the support structures public buyers now expect.

Further notices are likely to follow, particularly for reagents, disposable equipment and software to keep these platforms running. For now, the latest contracts indicate that capillary electrophoresis, fluorescence microscopy and automated sample handling are set to remain central pillars of public-sector genetic diagnostics.

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