36C25021Q0437.docx

Contract Opportunity Special Notice

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* = Required Field Contract Opportunity Special Notice Becton-Dickinson Company (BD Diagnostics) Totalys Cytoprocessor; Intent to Sole Source Requirement 48105 36C25021Q0437 N 325413 Department of Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System Network Contracting Office 10 2215 Fuller Road Ann Arbor MI 48105 Contract Specialist Matthew Durden matthew.durden@va.gov 734-222-4321 N/A N/A Notice of Intent to Sole Source Requirement

The Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Healthcare System, VISN 10 Contracting Activity intends to negotiate a sole source Indefinite Quantity/ Indefinite Delivery (ID/IQ) Contract under the authority of FAR 13, pursuant to FAR 6.302-1 Only One Responsible Source. The associated NAICS code for this is 325413 with a size standard of 1,250 employees. The vendor will be Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD Diagnostics), located in Sparks, Maryland.

Description of equipment requirements:

5 Year ID/IQ for laboratory reagents and totalys cytoprocessing system

· Pursuant to FAR 6.302-1 Only One Responsible Source, the Department of Veterans Affairs has determined Becton, Dickinson and Company, herby known as “BD Diagnostics”, to be the only responsible source that will meet the government’s requirement. The VA considers this requirement “highly specialized”. There is only one cytoprocessing workstations and reagents that can meet the government’s estimated sample requirements, BD Diagnostics. Surepath is BD Diagnostic’s method and Thinprep is Hologic, the direct competitor’s method.

· The SurePath preparation has a low specimen unsatisfactory rate due to the collection devise being included in the specimen vial, maximizing optimal cellularity. The ThinPrep system discards the collection devise that contains specimen cells for evaluation, therefore increasing our total specimen unsatisfactory rate. Also, ThinPrep uses a micro screen processing devise that can become clogged due to lubricant or mucus and therefore preventing cell transfer to the specimen slide for evaluation.

· BD’s Totalys system has the advantage of staining all specimens separately, eliminating the chance of cross-contamination of specimens.

· Our team of Cytotechnologist and Pathologist microscopically examines stained cells retrieved from the cytology specimens. Diagnosis are based on what is seen microscopically. The morphology, structures and components of cells, are distinctly different depending the use of ethanol or methanol. Our team of diagnosticians have been trained on the ethanol-based system (BD SurePath). It is the opinion of all our diagnosticians that changing to a methanol-based system would increase the possibility of missed diagnosis due to the change in cellular morphology, thus clearly diminishing patient care.

An ID/IQ with a 5-year ordering period is anticipated and shall be awarded. Due to the specialized nature of the requirement it is the Government's intention to solicit and negotiate with only this source in order to fulfill the requirement.

This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. It is not a solicitation or request for offers. No solicitation package is available. Any response to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government. Responses must be received no later than 5:30 pm EST on Friday, March 26, 2021.

Matthew Durden Contract Specialist

(734) 222-4321 Matthew.durden@va.gov

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