--Intent to award sole source for the continuation of research on protein purification of a Malaria Vaccine candidate.

The US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity intends to award a sole source contract to Quigen Inc., located in Valencia, California, for the procurement of resin used in the protein purification process of a Malaria vaccine candidate. This specific resin is critical to ongoing research, and switching to any other vendor at this stage could compromise the validity of studies completed so far, leading to unnecessary duplication of costs for the government. Given these circumstances, the procurement will be conducted through procedures other than full and open competition, in alignment with FAR 6.302-1 regulations. The contract, identified by solicitation number W81XWH08T0322 and posted in July 2008, falls under the NAICS code 423450. This sole source award reflects the necessity to maintain consistency in the materials used for the vaccine research to ensure the continuation and integrity of the project, thereby supporting efforts toward advancing a candidate Malaria vaccine. The decision to limit competition aims to streamline procurement while safeguarding the scientific validity of the government-funded medical research.