Provision of exotic antivenoms

Public Health England (PHE) is responsible for the central provision of exotic antivenoms in the UK, having received advice on the types of antivenoms to be held from an independent Expert Advisory Group on antivenoms. To meet current requirements, PHE has awarded the contract to Instituto Clodomiro Picado, a research unit of the Universidad de Costa Rica. The awarded contract is PHE wide for a period of 1 year with one possible extensions of 12 month. Exotic antivenoms provide an emergency treatment for potentially fatal bites or stings from non-indigenous venomous animals held in the UK. The purchase of exotic antivenoms is business critical.