MCI Diagnostic Center, LLC (36C25620Q0141)

B-418330 Mar 11, 2020 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights MCI Diagnostic Center, LLC (MCI), of Tulsa, Oklahoma, protests the issuance of a sole-source purchase order to Quest Diagnostics, Inc. (Quest) by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for t-spot interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) tuberculosis testing services. MCI argues that the sole-source award was unjustified and unreasonable. We deny the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  MCI Diagnostic Center, LLC File:  B-418330 Date:  March 11, 2020 Kathleen D. Henderson for the protester. Natica Chapman Neely, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. John Sorrenti, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging agency’s award of a sole-source contract under simplified acquisition procedures is denied where the record shows that the agency reasonably determined that there was only one source reasonably available to meet the agency’s urgent requirements for tuberculosis testing services. DECISION MCI Diagnostic Center, LLC (MCI), of Tulsa, Oklahoma, protests the issuance of a sole-source purchase order to Quest Diagnostics, Inc. (Quest) by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for t-spot interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) tuberculosis testing services.  MCI argues that the sole-source award was unjustified and unreasonable. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On August 20, 2019, the agency posted on the System for Award Management (SAM) website a sources-sought notice requesting information to enable the agency to “conduct[] market research to identify potential sources for a potential procurement of t-spot IGRA [tuberculosis] testing for the Southeast [Louisiana] VA Health Care System located in New Orleans, [Louisiana].”[1]  See Protest, exh. B, Notice ID No. 36C25619Q1412.  The notice instructed interested companies to provide product literature on any items that would be offered to meet the requirements of the draft specifications.  Id. On August 21, 2019, MCI responded via email to the sources-sought notice, providing a capability statement, a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) certification, and a College of American Pathologists (CAP) accreditation.  Protest, exh. C.  The capability statement stated that MCI was “capable of performing reference laboratory testing services ([tuberculosis] testing),” and that it had the laboratories and vendor resources to provide these services.  Id., exh. F.  The CLIA certification and CAP accreditation, according to MCI, “ensures test results are meeting and exceeding industry standards for clinical laboratory testing such as required in the [s]ources [s]ought notice.”  Protest at 3. Based on the responses to the sources-sought notice, on September 5, 2019, the agency issued request for quotations (RFQ) No. 36C25619Q1470 as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) set-aside seeking a particular t-spot tuberculosis test that was proprietary to Oxford Immunotec, USA (Oxford).  Id., exh. I, RFQ at 1, 4.  Oxford was performing the tuberculosis testing services pursuant to an order issued under its Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract, and that order was set to expire at the end of September.  Agency Supplement to Notice of Corrective Action and Request for Dismissal, at 2.  On September 26, 2019, the agency cancelled the solicitation in its entirety, stating that it was doing so due to “a significant solicitation anomaly.”[2]  Protest, exh. J, RFQ Amend. 0001, at 1. After cancelling the RFQ, the agency issued another order for tuberculosis testing services under Oxford’s FSS contract.  Agency Supplement to Notice of Corrective Action and Request for Summary Dismissal, at 3.  This order was effective October 1, 2019 and included a 3-month period of performance, until December 31, 2019.  Id.  According to the agency, shortly after issuing the order to Oxford, the agency learned that Quest had purchased Oxford’s North American laboratory, and therefore Quest was the company that would provide the tuberculosis testing services.  See id. at 3, n.2.  As a result, the agency modified the order issued to Oxford to reflect that a new vendor would provide the services, and subsequently issued an order to Quest to perform the same services.  Id. On November 26, 2019, the agency posted on SAM another sources-sought notice, again seeking information to enable it to conduct market research to identify potential sources for a potential procurement of t-spot IGRA tuberculosis testing.  Protest, exh. K, SAM Notice ID No.