Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Electrophoresis Testing for the Albany, Buffalo, and Syracuse VA Medical Centers
Department of Veterans Affairs
AI summaryThe VA Network Contracting Office 2 wants one vendor to supply electrophoresis lab testing (SPEP, UPEP, IFE and CSF/Oligoclonal) at the Albany, Buffalo and Syracuse, NY VA Medical Centers on a cost-per-test basis. The vendor provides an analyzer at each site plus all reagents, supplies, middleware, service and training, with a single firm-fixed-price IDIQ contract expected to run five years from about Nov 2, 2026. This is an unrestricted (full and open) RFQ, and quotes are due October 13, 2026 (an amendment moved it to Nov 2, 2026, 3:00 PM EST) at 12:00 PM Eastern. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
Summary of the version posted Sep 29, 2026. The notice was amended Oct 26, 2026. The due date moved from Oct 13, 2026 to Nov 2, 2026. Check what else changed on SAM.gov. The notice looks incomplete: Estimated total contract value is not stated (only 5,100 tests per year and a $10,000 guaranteed minimum). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The VA Network Contracting Office 2 wants one vendor to supply electrophoresis lab testing (SPEP, UPEP, IFE and CSF/Oligoclonal) at the Albany, Buffalo and Syracuse, NY VA Medical Centers on a cost-per-test basis. The vendor provides an analyzer at each site plus all reagents, supplies, middleware, service and training, with a single firm-fixed-price IDIQ contract expected to run five years from about Nov 2, 2026. This is an unrestricted (full and open) RFQ, and quotes are due October 13, 2026 (passed) at 12:00 PM Eastern.
Who can bid (7)
- Unrestricted competition; no set-aside, with NAICS 334516 and a 1,000 employee size standard
- Analyzer must be a fully automated, FDA-approved system on the market at least one year that performs SPEP, UPEP, IFE and CSF/Oligoclonal
- Contractor must perform all the work itself; subcontracting is not authorized
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- Equipment must be new, current production models (remanufactured or discontinued models are not acceptable)
- Completed VA Directive 6550 Appendix A and Manufacturer Disclosure Statement must be submitted with the quote
- Offered end products must be U.S.-made or designated country end products under the Trade Agreements Act
- SDVOSB/VOSB credit requires verification in SBA's Small Business Search database at quote submission and award
How to submit: Email to Contracting Officer Jonathan Kilgore at jonathan.kilgore@va.gov (telephone calls not accepted), due October 13, 2026 at 12:00 PM Eastern. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (8)
- Serious: Single award, all three sites, no subcontracting. One vendor must serve all three VA labs and do 100% of the work itself, so a small business needs its own equipment, service staff and lab-instrument capability.
- Serious: You supply and own the equipment under a per-test price. The per-test price must cover five years of analyzers, reagents, service, middleware, printers, training and removal, so the vendor carries the up-front cost and volume risk.
- Serious: Volumes are estimates; small guaranteed minimum. Only $10,000 is guaranteed and test counts are best estimates, which makes it hard to recover equipment costs if volume drops.
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- Serious: Tight 90-day implementation with termination risk. Installation, training and validation at three sites must finish within 90 days of award, and missing it can end the contract.
- Worth checking: Strict performance and delivery standards. Orders must arrive within 10 days, emergency supplies within 24 hours, and each instrument must stay at 90% monthly uptime with a 30-day acceptance run.
- Worth checking: Heavy VA IT and cybersecurity requirements. Each lab needs its own middleware server, a Data Innovations/Vista interface, VA security forms and equipment that works with VA network rules, which can be costly to meet.
- Worth checking: Veteran-owned firms get price credits. SDVOSB and VOSB bidders get 10% and 5% price credits, and non-veteran firms get smaller credits only by using verified veteran subcontractors, which can disadvantage other bidders on price.
- Minor: Hazardous waste documentation required. The quote must include waste characterization and test data (metals, pH, flash point, BOD and more) for the equipment and reagents, which takes manufacturer cooperation.
Read from the notice and 5 attachments. Show which files.
- 36C24226Q0949 0001.docx (read)
- 36C24226Q0949.pdf (read)
- 36C24226Q0949_1.docx (read)
- Attachment 0002 - Manufacturer Disclosure Statement for Medical Device Security.pdf (read)
- Attachment 0001 - VA Directive 6550 Appendix A.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Provide cost-per-test electrophoresis testing (SPEP, UPEP, IFE, CSF/Oligoclonal), about 5,100 tests per year across all three labs
- Install one FDA-approved, fully automated agarose gel electrophoresis analyzer at each of the three VA sites, and remove them at contract end
- Supply all reagents, calibrators, controls, consumables, printers and ancillary equipment included in the per-test price
- Provide a middleware server for each lab with a two-way barcode interface compatible with Data Innovations and the VA's Vista system
- Maintain and repair equipment (24/7 phone support, onsite service weekdays 8-5, emergency service within 24 hours) with 90% uptime
- Complete installation, validation studies and staff training within 90 days of award
- Deliver orders within 10 days and emergency supplies within 24 hours when needed
- Submit the VA Directive 6550 Appendix A and the Manufacturer Disclosure Statement for Medical Device Security with the quote
- Contract type
- Single-award firm-fixed-price IDIQ (cost per test); Request for Quote under FAR Part 12 commercial procedures
- Period of performance
- Five years, tentatively November 1, 2026 to October 31, 2031 (price schedule shows a base year plus four option years); the contract is reviewed annually and can be ended with 30 days notice for unsatisfactory performance
- Place of performance
- Albany VA Medical Center (113 Holland Ave, Albany NY), Buffalo VA Medical Center (3495 Bailey Ave, Buffalo NY), Syracuse VA Medical Center (800 Irving Ave, Syracuse NY)
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- Contract vehicle
- None (full and open RFQ); IDIQ with a guaranteed minimum of $10,000 and estimated 5,100 tests per year, not guaranteed
- How they'll choose
- Comparative evaluation under FAR 12.203(c)(2) where quotes are compared to one another to find the best benefit; the Government may pay more than the lowest price
- Offers due
- October 13, 2026 at 12:00 PM Eastern (from the version posted Sep 29, 2026; amended since)
- How to submit
- Email to Contracting Officer Jonathan Kilgore at jonathan.kilgore@va.gov (telephone calls not accepted)
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical or Quality (nine listed technical requirements, answered in a separate document)
- Past Performance
- Veterans Involvement (price credits for SDVOSB and VOSB firms or their subcontractors)
- Price (total of all line items including options)
What to include when you submit
- Include solicitation number, offeror name, address and phone, UEI, and a statement of agreement with all terms and any exceptions in writing
- Provide pricing for each individual test (CLINs by site) and a cumulative total price for each contract year, including option years
- Technical Capabilities responses go in a separate document and must explain how you meet each requirement, not just repeat the SOW
- Include a 90-day implementation plan for installing equipment at all three laboratories
- Include completed VA Directive 6550 Appendix A (Attachment 0001) and Manufacturer Disclosure Statement for Medical Device Security (Attachment 0002)
- Provide documentation characterizing hazardous waste from the equipment and reagents (SOW 2.4.7.8), included with the vendor response
- List any SDVOSB/VOSB subcontractors with a short description and dollar values to claim veterans involvement credit
- Hold prices firm for 60 calendar days; return the representations and certifications required by the listed provisions; list non-U.S.-made end products if any
Not in the notice text
- Estimated total contract value is not stated (only 5,100 tests per year and a $10,000 guaranteed minimum)
- Part of the solicitation (about 56,000 characters in the middle, including the rest of the price schedule and Section C contract clauses such as order limits and option terms) was not provided
- Relative importance of the four evaluation factors is not stated
- Any page limit for the technical or past performance volumes is not stated
- How past performance information must be submitted is not specified in the text provided
- Whether there is an incumbent vendor (the SOW refers to a 'current analyzer' without naming one)
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside: any business, large or small, can bid unless the notice says otherwise.
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to Contracting Officer Jonathan Kilgore at jonathan.kilgore@va.gov (telephone calls not accepted). Check it in the notice before you send anything.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 26, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Office
- 242-Network Contract Office 02 (36C242), Albany, NY
- Product/service code
- 6640 · Laboratory Equipment and Supplies
- Business type
- Electronic parts & equipment (supplies) (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 334516)
- Versions
3 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 26, 2026 · Amendment 0002 (this version)Due Nov 2, 2026 (changed)
- Sep 29, 2026 · Amendment 0001Due Oct 13, 2026 (changed)
- Sep 29, 2026 · Combined Synopsis/SolicitationDue Oct 12, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
Terms on this notice: Solicitation
Latest amendment note from SAM.gov
The purpose of this amendment is to extend the quotation submission deadline to 11/02/2026 at 3PM EST. Interested vendors are invited to submit new or revised quotations in response to the solicitation. Quotations must include a complete technical response addressing all applicable requirements of the Statement of Work (SOW), along with pricing consistent with the Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) structure established in the solicitation. Vendors that previously submitted quotations may submit revised quotation packages for consideration. All other terms and conditions of the solicitation remain unchanged.
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