6640--Intent to Sole Source - MICROBIOLOGY BLOOD CULTURE CPT

The Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Integrated Service Network 2, has published a Notice of Intent to Award a Sole Source Contract to BioMerieux Inc. for microbiological blood culture equipment and supplies at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in Bronx, New York. This Special Notice, posted on January 29, 2026, indicates the government's intention to procure brand-name microbiological blood culture systems exclusively from BioMerieux Inc. The contract is structured as a Requirements contract with a five-year single order period divided into five annual pricing periods, running from April 30, 2026, through April 29, 2031. The procurement falls under Product Service Code 6640 (Laboratory Equipment and Supplies) and NAICS Code 334516 (Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing). This Notice of Intent provides interested parties an opportunity to challenge the sole source determination before contract award.

The primary objective of this Special Notice is to notify potential competitors of the government's intent to award a sole source contract while allowing interested parties to submit Expressions of Interest (EOI) for consideration. Contractors wishing to challenge this determination must submit EOIs addressing comparable sources and their capability to provide equivalent services via email to Contracting Officer Janelle Bonafede at Janelle.Bonafede@va.gov by February 6, 2026, at 4:00 PM Eastern Time. The government will review all timely EOIs solely to determine whether to conduct a competitive procurement, though the final decision to compete remains at the government's discretion. There are no specific eligibility criteria stated beyond the requirement to demonstrate comparable capability to provide equivalent microbiological blood culture systems. The notice explicitly states that this is not a Request for Proposals or Quotations, and no contract award will be based on responses to this notice.