B-298931, ViroMed Laboratories, December 20, 2006

B-298931 Dec 20, 2006 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights ViroMed Laboratories protests the decision by the Department of the Army to set aside for small business competition request for proposals (RFP) No. W81K04-06-R-0014, for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) testing and reporting services. The protester contends that the contracting officer failed to make reasonable efforts to determine whether fair market price offers from two or more responsible small business concerns would be received. We deny the protest. View Decision B-298931, ViroMed Laboratories, December 20, 2006 DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: ViroMed Laboratories File: B-298931 Date: December 20, 2006 Thomas A. Schmutz, Esq., and Jennifer A. Bowen, Esq., Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, for the protester. Maj. ChristinaLynn E. McCoy, Department of the Army, and Laura Mann Eyester, Esq., Small Business Administration, for the agencies. Jennifer D. Westfall-McGrail, Esq., and Christine S. Melody, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that agency failed to conduct adequate market research to determine appropriateness of small business set-aside by failing to verify the representations of small business offerors regarding their capabilities is denied; in the absence of evidence that small business sources had misrepresented their capabilities, it was reasonable for the contracting officer to rely upon these representations in making set-aside determination. DECISION ViroMed Laboratories protests the decision by the Department of the Army to set aside for small business competition request for proposals (RFP) No. W81K04-06-R-0014, for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) testing and reporting services. The protester contends that the contracting officer failed to make reasonable efforts to determine whether fair market price offers from two or more responsible small business concerns would be received. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The RFP, which was issued on August 29, 2006, contemplated the award of a fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. The contract was to cover a 1-year base, and four 1-year option, periods. Prior to issuing the solicitation, the contracting officer posted a –sources sought— notice on the FedBizOpps website. The notice furnished a comprehensive listing of the test procedures to be performed, estimated quantities, data management requirements, and contractor accreditation requirements. Thirteen businesses responded to the sources sought notice; 11 of the 13 firms furnished capability information, and of these 11, 9 were small businesses. The notice invited sources with the skills and capabilities to perform the stated requirement to furnish information regarding their capabilities. The contracting officer reviewed the responses received and conducted additional research through the Central Contractor Registration System and the Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) System. In addition, she contacted the companies that had responded and queried them regarding their capability to perform the information technology (IT) portion of the requirement. Based on the information that she gathered, the contracting officer concluded that there were at least three small businesses capable of performing the RFP's requirements. The contracting officer further concluded that since her research showed that HIV testing was offered and sold competitively in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace, there was a reasonable expectation of award at a fair market price. Accordingly, the contracting officer concluded that the requirement should be set aside for small business competition. The contracting officer conducted further market research at the time she completed DD Form 2519, Small Business Coordination Record. The research consisted of searching the DSBS system using the NAICS code assigned to the solicitation and the keyword –HIV.— The search yielded three small businesses, one of which was considered to be a possible additional source.[1] The agency held a pre-proposal conference on September 11, 2006. Representatives from the protester, which is the incumbent contractor and a large business, and five small businesses attended. Three of the small businesses were firms that had submitted responses to the sources sought notice. On September 12, ViroMed filed an agency-level protest objecting to the agency decision to set aside the acquisition for small business competition. By decision dated September 21, the contracting officer denied the protest. On October 3, prior to the closing date set for receipt of proposals, ViroMed protested to our Office. DISCUSSION Under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) sect.