Notice Award a Sole Source Procurement - GeneXpert Service Agreement

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office (NCO) 17, located at 5441 Babcock Road Ste. 302, San Antonio, TX 78240 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.

The intended Contractor is CEPHEID, located at 904 East Caribbean Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089. The Central Texas Veterans Healthcare System (CTVHCS) requires a service agreement for 3 new Microbiology Analyzers, Cepheid GeneXperts, one at each site (Waco, Temple, and Austin). This is a new acquisition as the analyzers were VA purchased in 2023 and were under warranty. Cepheid This is not a bundled requirement and there are no conflicts of interests in this procurement.

Cepheid is currently the sole manufacturer of Xpert® reagents, and GeneXpert® systems are manufactured exclusively for Cepheid. Xpert reagent test cartridges are designed and manufactured to only be used with Cepheid’s instruments. Cepheid is currently the only authorized provider of service for GeneXpert systems to customers within the United States, excluding territories.

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. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for this requirement is, 811210 – Electronic and precision equipment repair and maintenance. Product of Service Code for this requirement is J066 – Maintenance, Repair, Rebuild of Equipment - Instruments and Laboratory Equipment.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) size standard for this sector is $34 Million. The anticipated statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition for the requirement is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.