Notice of Intent to Sole Source

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office (NCO) 22, located at 4811 Airport Plaza Drive, Long Beach, CA 90815 is issuing this Notice of Intent (NOI) to inform industry contractors of the Government’s intent to execute a Sole Source Award under FAR Part 13 – Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP), specifically FAR Subpart 13.5 – Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items. 

This procurement is being conducted using commercial item procedures pursuant to FAR Part 12 and FAR Part 13, specifically FAR Subpart13.106-1(b)(1)(i) allowing the Contracting Officer (CO) to solicit from one source.  This will be a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) award and an anticipated award date is set for March 1, 2025. The intended Contractor is Edwards Lifesciences LLC, One Edwards Way, Irvine, CA 92614.

Description of Supplies: The Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System (SAVAHCS) – Tucson, Surgery Department is requesting a No Cost Consignment Agreement for SAPIEN 3 Ultra Resilia Transcatheter Heart Valve implants for the launch of the VA’s Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) program. This includes a PAR-level consigned inventory to be stored at the requesting facility by the vendor at no cost to the Government until the implants are used by the Prescribing Physician.  Consignment Agreements provide a method of advanced planning by ensuring the devices are immediately available for use when needed. Establishing consignment agreements for PAR-level inventory prevents the routine use of unusual and compelling urgency actions required to perform the necessary surgical procedures.

Only One Source Capable: Due to the uniqueness of the items being requested, establishing a sole source consignment agreement is the only appropriate method to obtain the inventory needed for surgical procedures. Because these items are proprietary and only sold by the manufacturer through local representatives, the function of soliciting sources would not provide a benefit to the acquisition. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for this requirement is 339112, Surgical and Medical Instrument Manufacturing.  The Federal Service Code (FSC) for this requirement is 6515 Medical and Surgical Instruments, Equipment and Supplies.  This is a NO COST acquisition with an inventory estimated value of $1,060,800.00 for a base period and four (4) one-year ordering periods. The value of the inventory remains the same each ordering period. The method of payment for used implants is the VA Government Purchase Card (GPC).

This notice of intent is neither a formal solicitation nor a request for competitive proposals. No solicitation document is available and telephone requests will not be honored.  Any response to this notice must be received by 1/4/2025, 3:00 pm PST, and show clear, compelling, and convincing evidence that competition will be advantageous to the Government.  The intent of this synopsis is for informational purposes only.  Information received will normally be considered solely to determine whether to conduct a competitive procurement.  A determination by the Government not to compete this action based on this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.

All inquiries and concerns must be addressed in writing via e-mail to shavon.bogan@va.gov