The Commercial Medicines Unit (CMU), part of our Commercial Medicines Directorate, is responsible for buying and securing the supply of medicines prescribed in NHS hospitals in England.

Medicines framework agreements

Working with a wide range of stakeholders the CMU manages a number of Medicines Framework agreements that define how we ensure continuity of supply for:

• generic medicines including newly available generic medicines used in hospitals
• branded medicines, biosimilar medicines and intravenous (IV) fluids
• blood products and dose banded chemotherapy and flu vaccines for hospitals.

Homecare medicines and services

Our Homecare team works closely with the National Clinical Homecare Association and has representation on the National Homecare Medicines Committee. The team is responsible for NHS procurement of at-home medicines delivery and home nursing services for people living with the following:

• bleeding disorders, lysosomal storage disorders and pulmonary hypertension

The Homecare team is also responsible for provision of Home Parenteral Nutrition (HPN).

Pharmacy team

Our Pharmacy team work across CMU to provide clinical and pharmaceutical support to all procurement functions. The team also lead on supply chain management, supporting the management and mitigation of supply issues, working closely with the Medicine Supply Team (DHSC), senior stakeholders from the NHS and the pharmaceutical industry.

Useful information for NHS trust pharmacy and procurement teams

• Pharmacy Web Catalogue (WebCat)
• PharmaQC (Medicines Supplier database)
• Declaration of Interests System (eDIS)
• pharmacyqueries@cmu.nhs.uk
• PharmEx portal
• Pharmex Download portal

Useful information for suppliers

• Contracts Finder
• Atamis, our single eCommercial system. Please send all contract queries via Atamis.
• SELECTT
• SELECTT user guide
• PharmaQC
• The drugs and pharmaceutical electronic market information tool (eMIT)
• Pharmacy purchasing points list
• Single source opportunity list

Useful resources

• Access for All: Ensuring all patients in the UK have access to the best treatments for haemophilia A

For any general supplier enquiries please contact supplier@cmu.nhs.uk