36C26326Q0650.docx

Sources Sought Notice Sources Sought Notice

GENERAL INFORMATION

SET-ASIDE

NETWORK CONTRACTING OFFICE 23

2101 NORTH ELM STREET (04-S)

FARGO ND 58102

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contracting Specialist Theresa (Tess) Thunder theresa.thunder@va.gov

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Minneapolis VA Health Care System

One Veterans Drive

Minneapolis MN

DESCRIPTION

The Minneapolis Health Care System requires Specimen Validity and Drug of Abuse Reagen Supplies with the Salient Characteristics listed below.

This is a sources sought looking for businesses to provide the supplies listed below for market research purposes. No awards of a contract will be made from this announcement.

If you are a vendor that can provide the requested information above and required supplies described below with competitive pricing, send your information (to include your organization's Unique Entity Identifier number) with a description of proof of capability to: theresa.thunder@va.gov on or before May 7th, 2026. Only emailed responses will be considered.

Additionally, please provide answers as appropriate to the following questions in the table below with your response to this sources sought. Failure to respond to the following questions may affect the acquisition strategy.

*If applicable, VAAR 852.219-76 VA Notice of Limitations on Subcontracting—Certificate of Compliance for Supplies and Products, will apply to the potential solicitation if set-aside for Veteran Owned Small-Businesses.* *If applicable, VAAR 852.212-71 Gray Market Items, will apply to the potential solicitation.* *If applicable, FAR 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontracting, will apply to the potential solicitation if set-aside for Small-Businesses. *

Statement of Work

Specimen validity and drugs of abuse reagents

1. Basic Requirement:

The Minneapolis VA Health Care System Toxicology Laboratory, located at 1 Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55417, hereinafter referred to as MVAHCS, needs to establish a contract which provides FDA approved specimen validity and Fentanyl reagents which are specified in the schedule of items. These reagents will be used to verify the validity of specimens, including nitrite and creatinine assays, as well as perform Fentanyl testing in our highly specialized Forensic Toxicology Laboratory. MVAHCS is certified by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) under the National Laboratory Certification Program (NLCP) to conduct the Federal Workplace Urine Drugs of Abuse Testing Program for all the VA hospitals and their affiliated CBOCs. These products are used to support that program.

The MVAHCS requires a nitrite specific colorimetric assay that uses the Griess test which detects nitrites through formation of a diazonium salt, as opposed to a general oxidant assay. Urine nitrite validity requires a calibrator availability of 0 µg/mL and 500 µg/mL. Fentanyl requires a cutoff value of 1.0 ng/mL and cross-reactivity with Nor-fentanyl ≥5%. In addition, these reagents must be compatible for use with the Beckman AU480 analyzer.

Due to the strict and very specific performance criteria which have been established per NLCP guidelines, the MVAHCS has determined that only the reagents listed below meet our needs for this regulated testing. The products listed below have been validated and certified for use at the MVAHCS. Any deviation would require revalidation and recertification from the NLCP.

2. Contract Type and Terms:

The MVAHCS will award a five-year, brand name only contract for all items listed in the Schedule of Items. Contract use will be limited to the MVAHCS. The effective period of the contract shall be from 10/1/26-9/30/31.

3. Estimated Quantities:

The quantities listed in the “Schedule of Items” are estimated annual requirements. The MVAHCS attempts to be as accurate as possible when providing estimated quantities, however, actual quantities required may vary from quantities listed. All products will be requested on an “on demand, as needed” basis.

Schedule of Items:

4. Customer Service/Technical Support:

A company representative shall be available to the MVAHCS during the contract period to review the account, provide product information, handle problems or defective merchandise (if required) and address any other issues or concerns that may arise. Technical telephone support must be available Monday through Friday between 8:00am and 5:00pm. Telephone response time shall be within four (4) hours of notification.

5. Ordering Procedures:

Orders will be placed via contractor’s preferred method on an on-demand, as-needed basis by the MVAHCS. A list of approved personnel will be provided at the request of the contractor. Contractor shall provide the following preferred ordering information:

6. Delivery All supplies shall be delivered FOB Destination to the MVAHCS (unless otherwise indicated on the response to the solicitation) and shall arrive at the MVAHCS no later than 5 calendar days after receipt of an order.

Deliveries shall be made to:

All deliveries shall be accompanied by a packing slip which shall contain contractor’s name, purchase order number, date of order, date of delivery, itemized list of products furnished including product description and quantity shipped.

7. Product Quality All products offered to the MVAHCS must be of the same consistent high quality as would be offered to the general commercial public in the United States.

A. All products are purchased subject to acceptance by the MVAHCS. Products will be rejected if found unsatisfactory by the MVAHCS when they are received, or later if deterioration of the product occurs before the outdate. The MVAHCS will not be financially liable for unacceptable materials.

B. Any substitutions of product must have the written approval of the MVAHCS and the VISN 23 Contracting Officer.

C. All defective or inferior products must be replaced within 48 hours at no cost to the MVAHCS.

D. The MVAHCS is not required to return unacceptable product.

E. It is the contractor’s responsibility to provide the MVAHCS with recall notices on any product that has been delivered to this facility that may be defective. Notification shall be made via the most expedient method. The contractor shall replace and/or reimburse recalled or defective products at no cost to the government.

F. The contractor shall provide MVAHCS with a listing of the contractor’s products that are considered hazardous. The listing should also include a determination as to what can be considered harmless to be disposed of by normal methods, such as disposing in the sink or trash. SDS shall be available upon request.

G. To assure rotation of stock at the distributor, each lot of a product received must have an outdate later than previously received.

H. Only one lot number per product may be shipped per order. Multiple lot numbers per product per order will not be accepted.

I. All products must be delivered with at least 2/3 of the shelf-life remaining. The manufacturer will provide a shelf-life list (time from production to outdate), for each product, if requested.

8. Changes/Modifications:

Changes in the pricing, terms or conditions of this agreement may only be made by written agreement of the parties. All modifications for changes in the prices, terms or conditions of this agreement will be prepared for signature by the VISN 23 Contracting Officer.

Sources Sought Notice