65--Sole Source Procurement

The contract involves a sole source procurement for Aptima Combo Kits used in the automated testing of Chlamydia and Gonorrhea. The government plans to solicit and negotiate exclusively with Hologic, Inc., the sole provider of compatible diagnostic kits for the existing testing machine at the Bethesda facility. The decision to restrict competition is based on the fact that the current diagnostic equipment only supports this specific type of testing kit, and purchasing a different machine to accommodate other brands would incur excessive costs. While other vendors may submit quotes, the government retains full discretion to determine whether to proceed with competitive procurement based on these responses. Any information provided by other offerors will primarily be used to assess the feasibility of competition. This approach is aligned with the Federal Acquisition Regulation allowing sole source procurement under such unique compatibility and cost considerations. The solicitation was posted in September 2013 under solicitation number W91YTZ13T0620.