NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE SOLE SOURCE AWARD The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Indian Health Service (IHS), Bemidji Area intends to award a Firm Fixed Priced Contract on a sole source basis to Cepheid for the Cass Lake Service Unit in Cass Lake, MN. The anticipated period of performance will be for a base year only. The sole source action will be issued under the authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.501(a) - only one source reasonably available. Only one source is reasonably available due to the fact that Cepheid Licensing and Software is proprietary in nature. Cepheid is the only authorized provider of maintenance services for GeneXpert systems to customers in the United States. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 334516 – Analytic Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing. Point of contact for this acquisition is Contract Specialist Mary Simon, at
[email protected]. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotes. Interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit a quote to Contract Specialist Mary Simon, at
[email protected]. Information received in response to this notice will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Any response to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government. In doing so, interested sources must submit technical capabilities, and other information that demonstrates their ability to meet the Government's needs.