36C26324Q1093.docx

SUBJECT*

Notice of Intent to Sole Source - MPLS VAMC - Cytology Equipment, Reagents, and Consumables (Gynecological and Non-gynecological)

GENERAL INFORMATION

SET-ASIDE

One Veterans Drive

Minneapolis MN

CONTACT INFORMATION

NETWORK 23 CONTRACTING OFFICE

316 Robert Street N. STE. 506 St. Paul MN 55101

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contract Specialist Alisha Milander Alisha.Milander@va.gov

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

Presolicitation Notice

DESCRIPTION

Presolicitation Notice

This Notice of Intent is provided to advise that the Government intends to solicit and negotiate a sole source, Firm Fixed Price contract with option periods with only one source, Hologic Sales and Service, LLC to provide Cytology Equipment needed to interface with existing Hologic ThinPrep 2000 and Hologic 5000 Automated Specimen Prep System, and reagents and consumables proprietary to this equipment (Gynecological and Non-gynecological) for the Minneapolis VA Medical Center.

This contract action is for supplies for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate a Sole Source award under the authority of FAR 13.106-1.

This notice of intent to award a sole source contract is not a request for competitive proposals. However, in accordance with FAR 5.207 (c) (16) (ii), all responsible sources that feel they can meet the Government’s requirements detailed above may submit a capability statement which shall be considered by the agency. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: the System for Award Management (SAM) Unique Entity ID (UEI), and the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), along with documentation that the vendor is an authorized distributor/reseller. All offerors must have an active registration in SAM at www.sam.gov. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The information will be retained as Market Research.

All responses must be received by 4:30 PM Central Time on Friday, August 23rd, 2024.

Responses shall be submitted electronically to Alisha Milander via email at Alisha.Milander@va.gov. Fax responses and Telephone inquiries will not be accepted.

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Presolicitation Notice

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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION UNDER SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH FAR 13.5

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, Network 23 Contracting Office, 316 Robert St N, Ste 506, St. Paul, MN 55101 Requesting Activity: Minneapolis VA Medical Center, One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55417

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Processed:

The Minneapolis VAMC currently has a contract with Hologic (36C26321D0067), supporting proprietary reagents and consumables, which expires on 09/30/2026. An automated imager and two review microscopes are needed to interface with existing proprietary equipment (two processors, one Hologic ThinPrep 2000 and one Hologic 5000 Automated Specimen Prep System) already owned by the MPLS VAMC, and the new equipment can only be leased, not purchased. Due to it being out-of-scope to add them to the existing contract, this new Base + 5 Option Periods contract will include the previous items as well as the new items and will replace the existing contract, which will be terminated upon award of this contract.

Sole Source to:

3. Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Needs:

The laboratory at the Minneapolis VAMC needs to automate their workflow to improve response time for patient care, and in order to do so, an automated imager and two review microscopes are needed to interface with existing proprietary equipment already owned by the MPLS VAMC. Hologic only leases the required equipment, so since it cannot be purchased and it cannot be added to the current contract due to an out-of-scope assessment, this new Base + 5 Option Periods contract will include the previous items as well as the new items and will replace the existing contract, which will be terminated upon award of this contract.

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Restricted Competition:

FAR 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items. The statutory authority for applying the Simplified Procedures for Commercial Items of FAR 13.5 is 41 U.S.C. § 1901 and is implemented by FAR 13.106-1(b)(2) for restricting competition on this procurement. Competition is restricted on this procurement for the reason below:

( X ) Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements ( ) Unusual and Compelling Urgency ( ) Industrial Mobilization, Engineering, Developmental or Research Capability or Expert Services ( ) International Agreement ( ) Authorized or Required by Statute ( ) National Security ( ) Public Interest

5. Demonstration that the Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above (applicability of authority):

The laboratory at the Minneapolis VAMC has already paid for highly specialized and expensive equipment that is expected to have many years useage left on it before it would need to be replaced. The cost of replacing that equipment early is not expected to be recouped through competition of this procurement leading to purchasing an entirely different equipment system that could potentially provide the same workload automation the existing system can provide by leasing the required equipment. Additionally, the time it would take to remove the existing equipment to replace with new equipment would cause unacceptable delays to processing tests for patients or would force the MPLS VAMC to pay additional to have the tests run at an external lab.

The vendor provided a letter stating that they are the sole proprietary manufacturer and domestic distributor of the ThinPrep® 2000 Processor; ThinPrep® 5000 Processor; ThinPrep® 5000 Autoloader System; ThinPrep® Genesis Processor; ThinPrep® Imaging System with Dual Review™; the ThinPrep® Pap Test Package; and all of the ThinPrep system disposables. There are no other vendors for the ThinPrep system in use at the MPLS VAMC.

6. Description of Efforts Made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as deemed practicable:

Contracting considered the possibility of purchasing different equipment; however, the costs associated with replacing the existing equipment and having to outsource patient tests to a different facility were deemed cost prohibitive.

7. Determination by the CO that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable:

It was determined that the pricing for this contract is fair and reasonable due to the pricing being developed in a competitive marketplace and offered to all customers.

8. Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results, or a Statement of the Reasons Market Research Was Not Conducted:

Used VetCert to identify verified capable SDVOSBs and VOSBs – 91 results were returned. Used the Dynamic Small Business Search tool – 8 VOSB and 109 SDVOSB results were returned.

Received a sole source letter from Hologic as the manufacturer/sole distributer of the required items. After determining that a sole source to Hologic would be the most cost effective solution as compared to the purchase of an entirely new system of equipment, no further market research was deemed necessary.

BAA applies to this requirement. Hologic affirmed that the required products are made in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

9. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other than Full and Open Competition:

The MPLS VAMC currently owns the Hologic ThinPrep 2000 and Hologic ThinPrep 5000 processor, and both are manufactured by Hologic. Hologic offers ancillary equipment to support automated imaging and manual review microscopes. This equipment is compatible with our existing owned processors. No other vendor would be able to provide appropriate reagents and consumables for our owned equipment due to their proprietary nature, or be able to provide an imager and review microscopes which are compatible with our owned processors, therefore making this a sole source procurement.

10. Listing of Sources that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition:

11. A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome any Barriers to Competition before Making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required:

Contracting considered the possibility of purchasing different equipment; however, the costs associated with replacing the existing equipment and having to outsource patient tests to a different facility were deemed cost prohibitive.