Notice of Intent to Award Sole Source Cost Per Reportable Result (CPRR), Leasing the Automated Microbial Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing system

The Department of the Army Medical Command has issued a Special Notice announcing its intent to award a sole source contract to Beckman Coulter, Inc. for leasing an Automated Microbial Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing system for the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center located at Fort Cavazos, Texas. The contract will be awarded under the authority of 41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2) and implemented through Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.501(a)(1)(ii) for simplified procedures for commercial items. The Medical Readiness Contracting Office West has determined that Beckman Coulter is the only source reasonably available for this specialized medical equipment. The procurement is specifically for leasing the testing system and providing the required consumables for the analyzers.

The purpose of this Special Notice is to inform the market of the government's intent to proceed with a sole source contract without competitive bidding. The contract will cover a base period and four option periods from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2030, focusing on high-quality testing for bacterial, fungal, and anaerobic identification and susceptibility. Market research conducted from March to April 2025 confirmed Beckman Coulter as the exclusive provider of the MicroScan DxM1096 system, Bruker MALDI Biotyper package, and associated software. The notice explicitly states that this is not a request for competitive proposals and no requests for capability briefings will be honored. Contractors should note the due date of June 20, 2025, though no competitive submissions are being sought. The justification for sole source is based on Beckman Coulter's unique capabilities, including having an approved Authorization to Operate (ATO) and the ability to perform minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) testing.