6550--Notice of Intent to Sole Source - Cepheid Reagents - IND

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 10, has published a Notice of Intent to Sole Source a federal contract for diagnostic reagent kits to Cepheid Inc. This special notice, posted on February 20, 2026, pertains to in-vitro diagnostic substance manufacturing (NAICS 325413) and represents the VA's intention to award a firm fixed price contract without competitive bidding. The contracting office is located at the Indianapolis VA Medical Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. The VA asserts that only Cepheid possesses the required capabilities to meet the requirement under FAR Part 6.302-1 authority (Only One Responsible Source).

The purpose of this sole source contract is to procure diagnostic reagent kits for use with existing Cepheid GeneXpert DX instruments at the Indianapolis Pathology Lab. The required supplies include eight diagnostic kit products with quantities ranging from 10 to 700 units, encompassing kits for C. difficile/epidemiology testing, carbapenem-resistant testing, tuberculosis testing, COVID-19 testing, and multiplex respiratory pathogen testing. Interested parties must submit clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government by the deadline of February 27, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time to Rachel MacRae at rachel.macrae@va.gov. Eligible contractors may challenge the sole source determination if they can demonstrate competitive capability, though no formal solicitation package is currently available. This notice is not a request for competitive proposals but rather an opportunity for potential competitors to present evidence against the sole source justification.