Protein Sciences Corporation

B-412794 Jun 02, 2016 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Protein Sciences Corporation (PSC) of Meriden, Connecticut, challenges the terms of request for proposal (RFP) No. SPE2DP-16-R-0004, issued by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) for influenza virus vaccines. PSC argues that the agency's requirement for pre-filled syringes is unduly restrictive of competition. We deny the protest. We deny the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  Protein Sciences Corporation File:  B-412794 Date:  June 2, 2016 Wayne Hachey, for the protester. Robert Bailey, Jr., Esq., and Jared P. Weissberger, Esq., Defense Logistics Agency, for the agency. Young H. Cho, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging solicitation requirements for pre-filled syringes as unduly restrictive is denied where the record supports the agency’s position that the requirement is reasonably necessary to meet the agency’s needs. DECISION Protein Sciences Corporation (PSC) of Meriden, Connecticut, challenges the terms of request for proposal (RFP) No. SPE2DP-16-R-0004, issued by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) for influenza virus vaccines.  PSC argues that the agency’s requirement for pre-filled syringes is unduly restrictive of competition. We deny the protest.  BACKGROUND The RFP, issued on February 17, 2016, under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12, contemplated the award of a single, fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract.  RFP at 1, 32.[1]  The solicitation contained seven contract line item numbers (CLINs) seeking an estimated total of 2,600,000 doses of a trivalent or quadrivalent influenza virus vaccine in multi-dose vials and single-dose pre-filled syringes.  Id. at 4-7.  At issue here is CLIN 0002, which seeks approximately 62,000 packages of 10 (i.e., a total of 620,000 doses) pre-filled syringes of the influenza virus vaccine for ages 18 years or older.[2]  Id. at 4.  As relevant here, the solicitation specified that each single-dose presentation “shall include one dose suitable for . . . adults . . . . The vaccine presented in single dose presentations shall be free of thimerosal or other preservatives.”  Id. at 8. Prior to the solicitation closing date, the protester inquired as to whether “preservative free single dose vial presentations” would be considered equivalent to the single-dose syringes required under CLIN 0002.  Agency Report (AR), Tab 4, February 17, 2016 email from PSC to Contracting Officer.  The agency responded that “[t]he solicitation calls for pre-filled syringes and the [single-dose] vials are unacceptable to our customer.”  AR, Tab 5, February 24, 2016 email from Contracting Officer to PSC.  This protest follows. DISCUSSION The protester argues that the agency’s requirement for pre-filled syringes is unduly restrictive of competition and that the agency should include single-dose vials in CLIN 0002.  Protest at 1.  In this regard, the protester contends that the “primary rationale for using a single-dose preparation is to provide a preservative free product,” and argues that the single-dose vial that PSC offers meets this requirement.  Id. Where a protester challenges a specification or requirement as unduly restrictive of competition, the procuring agency has the responsibility of establishing that the specification or requirement is reasonably necessary to meet the agency’s needs. See Streit USA Armoring, LLC, B-408584, Nov. 5, 2013, 2013 CPD ¶ 257 at 4.  We examine the adequacy of the agency’s justification for a restrictive solicitation provision to ensure that it is rational and can withstand logical scrutiny.  SMARTnet, Inc., B-400651.2, Jan. 27, 2009, 2009 CPD ¶ 34 at 7.  A protester’s disagreement with the agency’s judgment concerning the agency’s needs and how to accommodate them does not show that the agency’s judgment is unreasonable. Exec Plaza, LLC, B-400107, B-400107.2, Aug. 1, 2008, 2008 CPD ¶ 143 at 5. The agency responds that the protester’s assumption that the purpose of the pre-filled syringes is to ensure that they are preservative free is incorrect.  AR, Combined Contracting Officer Statement of Facts and Memorandum of Law (COSF/MOL) at 3.  The agency states that for single-dose presentations, pre-filled syringes are a minimum requirement and that single-dose vials do not satisfy the government’s requirements as stated in the solicitation.  Id. at 1.  In support of this contention, the agency provides a declaration from the Chief of the Public Health Division for the Defense Health Agency who is responsible for representing the Department of Defense on immunization matters and coordinating such requirements with the military services.  See AR, Tab 2, Declaration of C.