Medical University of South Carolina

Notice Of Intent To Sole Source By:

Vendor Name:

Contract Amount:

28,440.00

Notice Publish Date:

March 2, 2026

Agency Procurement Manager:

Email:

Telephone:

The Agency hereby provides notice that it intends to enter into a sole source contract per S.C. Code Ann. §11-35-1560 with Vendor for the following supplies, services, information technology, or construction:

In accordance with §11-35-1560 (A) of the SC Consolidated Procurement Code, it is the intent of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to award without competition, a sole source contract in accordance with Regulation 19-445.2105 (B) (5) to Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems (IRIS) for the purchase of 2 Phelcom Eye Essential retinopathy cameras.

Purpose and Objectives: The Endocrinology Department at MUSC is requesting purchasing 2 retinopathy cameras that are to be used when individuals with preexisting diabetes for screening prior to or during pregnancy. This procurement is essential to support our operational and institutional research needs, and after careful review, IRIS has been identified as the only provider capable of delivering the required functionality and data integration at the level necessary for our work. Society guidelines recommend screening all individuals with preexisting diabetes for retinopathy prior to or during pregnancy. Screening, diagnosis and treatment of retinopathy is crucial in this population; however, it is quite challenging to get timely visits with eye specialists.

Sole Source Justification: IRIS aggregates and harmonizes proprietary data directly from member institutions across the nation. No other vendor offers access to this dataset or the associated analytics. This data allows us to benchmark MUSC’s research activity and outcomes with precision that cannot be replicated through commercially available tools. IRIS employs standardized, peer-reviewed methodologies developed in collaboration with leading research universities and federal agencies. Their models for workforce tracking, vendor spend analysis, and innovation impact are unique to IRIS and cannot be duplicated by alternative platforms.

QUESTIONS/ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Shall be addressed to the email address of the Procurement Officer indicated below.

PROTESTS (MAY 2019): If you are aggrieved in connection with the intended award of this contract, you may be entitled to protest, but only as provided in §11-35-4210. To protest an intended award of a contract pursuant to §11-35-1560, you shall (i) notify the chief procurement officer in writing of your intent to protest within five (5) business days of the date this intent to award is posted, and (ii) if the appropriate chief procurement officer has been timely notified of your intent to protest, you may submit your actual protest within fifteen days of the date this notice of intent to award is posted. Days are calculated as provided in §11-35-310(13). Both protests and notices of intent to protest must be in writing and must be received by the appropriate Chief Procurement Officer within the time provided. The grounds of the protest and the relief requested must be set forth with enough particularity to give notice of the issues to be decided.

Any protest or notice of intent to protest must be addressed to the Chief Procurement Officer, Materials Management Office, and submitted in writing (a) by email to: protest-mmo@mmo.sc.gov or (b) by post or delivery to: 1201 Main Street, Suite 600, Columbia, SC 29201

This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. Any responsible sources who wish to identify their interest and capability to provide these services must notify this Contracting Specialist at gileno@musc.edu prior to the contact deadline: March 10, 2026, at 12:00 AM EST. Telephone responses will not be accepted. Upon receipt of the interested parties’ notification, the Contracting Officer will determine whether to conduct a competitive procurement or proceed with sole source negotiations.

Agency's justification for a sole source procurement may be viewed or immediately obtained at:

Leigh Gileno - gileno@musc.edu

PROTESTS:
Any actual or prospective bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor aggrieved in connection with the intended award or award of this sole source contract, shall notify the appropriate chief Procurement officer in writing of its intent to protest within five (5) business days of the date this notice is posted. Any actual or prospective bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor who is aggrieved in connection with the intended award or award of this sole source contract and has timely notified the appropriate chief procurement officer of its intent to protest, may protest to the appropriate chief procurement officer in the manner set forth below within fifteen days of the date this notice is posted; except that a matter that could have been raised as a protest of the solicitation may not be raised as a protest of the award or intended award of a contract.
A protest must be in writing, filed with the appropriate chief procurement officer, and set forth the grounds of the protest and the relief requested with enough particularity to give notice of the issues to be decided. The protest must be received by the appropriate chief procurement officer within the time provided above. Days are calculated as provided in S.C. Code Ann. §11-35-310(13).

Any notice of intent to protest and protest must be addressed to the chief procurement officer:

Materials Management Officer

(a) by email to:

Protest-MMO@mmo.sc.gov

(b) by post or hand delivery to:

1333 Main Street, Suite 700, Columbia, SC 29201

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