ViroMed Laboratories, Inc., B-289959.7, December 19, 2003

B-289959.7 Dec 19, 2003 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Agency reasonably found awardee's price realistic where the total proposed prices of protester and awardee were very similar. 3. " advised offerors that the agency would consider contracts that were not "of the magnitude" being competed. BACKGROUND This solicitation was issued by the U.S. Offerors were required to propose fixed unit prices for each of the contract line item numbers (CLINs) listed in the solicitation schedule. /4/ The solicitation listed estimated quantities for each CLIN. /5/ and total proposed prices were established by multiplying each offeror's fixed prices for each CLIN by the associated quantities for each contract period and summing the results. Five proposals were submitted by the initial closing date in June 2001. View Decision ViroMed Laboratories, Inc., B-289959.7, December 19, 2003 * REDACTED DECISION DIGEST Attorneys DECISION ViroMed Laboratories, Inc. protests the Department of the Army's award of a contract to the Center for Disease Detection (CDD) under request for proposals (RFP) No. DADA10-01-R-0009 to perform various laboratory testing and related services. ViroMed protests that the agency improperly evaluated CDD's and ViroMed's technical proposals as substantially equal, failed to perform a proper price realism analysis, and failed to properly evaluate the offerors' past performance. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND This solicitation was issued by the U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) at Fort Sam Houston, Texas in May 2001, seeking fixed-unit-price proposals to perform various blood testing and related services for a base period and four 1-year option periods. /1/ The solicitation provided that award would be based on the proposal offering the best value to the government and established the following evaluation factors: technical quality, /2/ past/present performance, proficiency testing, /3/ financial capability and price. Agency Report, Tab C, at 2. The solicitation advised offerors that the combined non-price factors would be significantly more important than price. Id. With regard to price, offerors were required to propose fixed unit prices for each of the contract line item numbers (CLINs) listed in the solicitation schedule. /4/ The solicitation listed estimated quantities for each CLIN, /5/ and total proposed prices were established by multiplying each offeror's fixed prices for each CLIN by the associated quantities for each contract period and summing the results. Five proposals were submitted by the initial closing date in June 2001. ViroMed, CDD, and a third offeror made oral presentations to the agency in July. /6/ Following oral presentations CDD and ViroMed each performed proficiency panel testing on two 20-sample panels of specimens provided by the agency. /7/ The agency concluded that both offerors' performance regarding the sample test requirements was satisfactory. Agency Report, Tab P, at 3. Shortly after oral presentations, two members of the agency's technical evaluation team (TET) made an unauthorized site visit to CDD's facility. /8/ Due to this visit, the contracting officer relieved the TET members of their duties and appointed a new TET in December 2001. Agency Report, Tab A, at 2. Thereafter, the new TET reviewed the videotapes of the oral presentations and prepared written discussion questions for ViroMed and CDD. /9/ ViroMed and CDD subsequently provided written responses to these discussion questions. Agency Report, Tabs, I, J, K. The agency also conducted oral discussions with both offerors. Agency Report, Tab A, at 2-3. Proposal revisions were submitted by both offerors in January 2002. Upon evaluation of these proposals, the agency found them to be substantially equal with regard to non-price factors, and determined that CDD's proposal offered the lowest price. /10/ Accordingly, CDD's proposal was selected for award on the basis of its lower proposed price. Following a debriefing, ViroMed filed a protest with our Office in February 2002. Rather than submitting an agency report responding to ViroMed's protest, the contracting officer advised our Office, by letter dated March 19, 2002, that the agency intended to take various corrective actions, including: requesting CDD to re-present the omitted portion of its oral presentation, performing a new technical evaluation and a new past performance evaluation, and making a new source selection decision. Agency Report, Tab S. The contracting officer's corrective action letter further advised the offerors: "I do not anticipate a new round of discussions. Instead, the agency intends to rely upon the discussions held previously with the offerors." Id. ViroMed did not challenge any aspect of the agency's corrective actions. /11/ Consistent with the agency's March 19 letter, the agency taped CDD's re-presentation of the portion of its earlier oral presentation that had not been recorded.