G
The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) as cited in FAR 6.302-1, "Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements." Merck, Corp., is the only source capable of performing this service for the following reasons: (1) All of the vaccines in this stockpile are manufactured by Merck, (2) To maintain the integrity and viability of the stockpile, all doses in storage must be maintained with a minimum shelf-life of 12-months to ensure readiness for a vaccine deployment from the stockpile, (3) This large stockpile can only be rotated by a vendor that has a large enough market base or product throughput to withdraw expiring product for current sales and replace with new, viable product that meets the required shelf-life, and (4) without the rotation of expiring vaccines with new product, CDC would have to purchase large quantities of vaccines year-after-year to maintain a viable stockpile of vaccines in case of emergency. Further, should the vaccines expire from year-to-year, a sufficient volume of vaccine may not be available to CDC should a stockpile deployment need arise during the new vaccine production cycle.
Responsible sources that believe they possess the expertise and capabilities identified above are encouraged to submit to the Contract Specialist within 10 days from the posting date of this notice, their written capabilities statement, proposal or quotation which shall be considered by the agency. Please forward the capability statement and/or pricing information to David Dombeck, Contracting Specialist, Centers for Disease Control, Office of Acquisition Services, ATTN: David Dombeck, MS: K-14, 2920 Brandywine Road, Atlanta, GA 30341, or via email at [email protected]. All vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to an award of a federal contract. The website is: www.sam.gov.
The Government will review any/all capabilities statements and pricing information submitted and determine if other qualified sources do exist that could provide this requirement. Information received in response to this announcement will be used solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.
If no affirmative responses are received within 10 days, negotiations will be conducted with the Merck, Corp., as the only source and a contract will be issued without any additional notices being posted.