Boston Scientifics Cardiovascular Products

Added: Feb 12, 2015 11:17 am The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support is seeking sources capable of providing Boston Scientific's cardiovascular product line that fall into the following product categories; Interventional Cardiology, Cardiac Rhythm Management, Electophysiology and Peripheral Intervention.  Along with the products in these categories the vendor must be capable of supplying the ancillary accessories (such as needles for entry and guide wire) that are necessary for the physician to perform cardiovascular surgery.    

Through Market Research it has been determined that these cardiovascular items (i.e. stents, balloons, catheters etc) are frequently ordered based upon "physician preference/experience", whereby other factors that would normally affect the decision to purchase the items on a competitive basis (i.e. price) are usually not considered when ordering.  A physician's decision to use a particular manufacturer's cardiovascular products is primarily based on the technical characteristics of the product that is expected to produce a higher quality of life for their patient's or achieve therapeutic results.  Once trained and comfortable with a particulars manufacturer's cardiovascular products, the physician will likely use that manufacturer's products for the duration of their career.

The ancillary accessories such as needles for entry and guide wire could technically be interchangeable between manufacturers.  Cardiovascular manufacturers provide these ancillary accessories because they are used with the other products mentioned above and are necessary for the physician to perform cardiovascular surgery.  The majority of physicians use the same manufacturers cardiovascular accessories (both the ones mentioned above and the ancillary accessories) for the entire surgery. 

All applicable cardiovascular products must be Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved. 

There are (3) three delivery method (Just-In-Time (JIT), Direct Vendor Delivery (DVD) and Consignment Agreement) used to support Medical Treatment Facilities (MTF) requirements for cardiovascular products.  Under the JIT method, the MTF calls the manufacturer sales representative when a surgery is scheduled to discuss the case, make a products selection and inform him or her of the surgery date and time.  The manufacturer sales representative will either "carry-in" or "ship" the cardiovascular products necessary for implantation to the designated site at the scheduled time.  Depending on the type of surgery, the representative may have in the MTF's possession a number of "back-up" components available to the physician's during the entire procedure.  Under the DVD method, MTF's may order products in advance of a scheduled surgery or purchase replacement inventory on an as needed basis.  Under this method all items are packaged for shipment to the delivery point cited on the purchase order. Under the Consignment delivery method the cardiovascular products are placed in the MTF's, who only pay for the products that are actually used during the surgery. 

Depending on the complexity of the surgical procedure, a qualified sales representative will be on site at the MTF, if requested by the surgeon.  The representative provides technical and product information to physicians before, during and after implantation.  However, product related support is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week despite the delivery method utilized to deliver the product.                

This is a Request For Information (RFI) and does not commit the U.S. Government to issue a solicitation, make an award, or pay any costs associated with responding to this announcement.  All submitted information shall remain with the U.S. Government and will not be returned. 

Your response to this RFI may be submitted electronically in pdf format and emailed to charles.reimer@dla.mil.