1305M319BNFFS0003_Brand_Name_Justification.pdf

Version 1.0

Source Selection Information – see FAR 2.101 and 3.104

BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION

FOR AN ORDER/BPA EXCEEDING

THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

(AUTHORITY: FAR 8.405-6)

Purchase Request: NFFS7400-19-00783

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Multiple Award Schedule Program.

1. Agency and contracting activity. Department of Commerce, NOAA Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Western Acquisition Division and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) Auke Bay Laboratory (ABL) in Juneau, Alaska.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This is a brand name justification for a BPA off of a GSA schedule. The proprietary products requested are specific to unique laboratory equipment and used to process and analyze DNA related to salmon and Alaska forage fish at the Auke Bay Labs.

3. Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

This is a request for DNA isolation and PCR multiplex reagents (“kits” and “chemicals”) with a total estimated value of $440,000 over the life of the five year contract (estimated period of performance is August 15, 2019 – August 14, 2024). Quantities of product required are ordered on an as needed basis as they have a limited shelf life and the required quantities vary depending upon how many samples are obtained.

The DNA isolation supplies are intended to be used on both the Corbett CAS1820 robot and the Qiagen QIACube HT for DNA purification. Both robots (machines) are sold and serviced by Qiagen, Inc. and the identified supplies are standardized for use on those robots. The robots use proprietary supplies including the requested kits and chemicals, which are obtained exclusively from Qiagen, Inc., or one of Qiagen’s approved distributors.

4. Authority and supporting rationale. The following circumstance justifies limiting the source as supported below:

Item(s) peculiar to one manufacturer (including brand name) under the authority of FAR 8.405- 6(b). Only one brand of product (Qiagen) meets the specifications and level of quality required because only the requested supplies are proprietary and technically compatible with the current lab equipment (robots).

The Corbett CAS1820 robot and the Qiagen QIACube HT for DNA purification and their associated proprietary supplies are manufactured by Qiagen, Inc. a large international business, and sold by either Qiagen, Inc. or one of its’ authorized resellers.

Market research indicates that while there are several authorized resellers, only one of those resellers is currently set up to do business with the federal government, specifically being a veteran owned small business with GSA schedule products.

(PR NFFS7400-19-00783)

Previously the laboratory upgraded to the CAS1820 and Qiagen QIACube HT robots allowing for faster performance with more accurate results. These robots use proprietary supplies including the requested kits and chemicals and no other manufacturers’ supplies will work with these machines.

As the price of the robots range between $60,000.00 and $70,000.00 each, the cost to re-invest in new machines to allow other manufacturers products offsets any benefit to be gained. Losing the products and services this contract provides for any length of time would severely hamper NOAA efforts to successfully complete agency research initiatives and larger mission goals. Interruption of the contract would render the current machinery non-useable and incur additional, and significant, expenses as alternative sources are sought and obtained in order to carry out agency responsibilities and objectives.

Additionally, the genetic reactions using these kits and reagents have been thoroughly tested and are standardized for high-throughput genotyping for salmon and Alaska forage fish. The high-throughput operations in the laboratory help to provide reliable data used to manage high-value fisheries.

Therefore, Qiagen, Inc. brand name products are the only responsible choice that can satisfy the requirements of this procurement action without impacting NOAA operations from a technical and fiscal standpoint.

5. Determination by the ordering activity contracting officer that the order represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d).

The contract specialist verified that commercial catalog pricing is available for these products from the vendor and that the GSA offered price is slightly lower than the manufacturer’s commercial list price. Any costs paid will not exceed these published prices. Additionally, the contracting officer intends to request further price reductions prior to award.

6. Market research conducted among schedule holders (or reason market research was not conducted).

During the market research the contract specialist reviewed the manufacturer’s web site to establish current list pricing. The contract specialist also compared internet listed resellers against SAM and the GSA schedules and while the manufacturer (a large business) is registered in SAM they do not offer the required products via the GSA. Only one small business reseller appeared to be to set up for federal government sales, and they were the only provider for the requested supplies via the GSA. That reseller, which is a veteran owned small business, appeared to have added the required products on their GSA schedules since the last procurement, and the products were listed at a slightly reduced rate than the manufacturer’s published pricing. Given that during the previous acquisition the GSA vendor did have GSA schedules but the specific products were not available via that route, the contract specialist contacted the vendor to confirm that the requested products were in fact available through the GSA supply schedules, which was confirmed.

Based on the limited sources available to purchase the proprietary supplies, the contract specialist confirmed with the program office and the contracting officer, that obtaining the required supplies through the GSA schedule vendor would be the preferred procurement method.

(PR NFFS7400-19-00783)

7. Any other facts supporting the justification.

Regarding the technical aspects of the requirement, the products (consumables) are needed for the routine operation of a Qiagen QIACube HT and Corbett CAS1820 DNA isolation robots and Qiagen multiplex PCR kits. The Qiagen QIACube HT and Corbett CAS1820 DNA isolation supplies are used for DNA isolation used in the genetic analysis and for long-term sample storage.

Qiagen Multiplex PCR kits are used on Life Technologies 7900 thermocyclers to coamplify multiple microsatellite PCR reactions, a method that significantly decreases overall analysis costs in the laboratory by enabling the analysis of multiple markers simultaneously. The DNA isolation supplies (includes the silica plates, tips for the robots, reagents, storage supplies, and all other consumables) must be included and work on both the QIACube HT and Corbett CAS1820 DNA isolation robots. The multiplex PCR kit must include the reagents necessary to perform multiplexed PCR for the analysis of microsatellite genetic markers including Q solution, a mix that has been used to standardize PCR amplification in the laboratory.

All reagents and supplies must be approved by the manufacturer for use on the aforementioned robots. All reagents and supplies have to have been standardized for use in the high-throughput genetic analysis of Pacific salmon (thousands of samples) using the Qiagen QIACube HT (different than the QIACube) and Corbett CAS1820 DNA isolation robots and the Life Technologies 7900 thermocyclers mentioned above (references to at least 2 US laboratories working on salmon using these robots and consumables must be provided along with at least 3 papers/reports showing use of these consumables in the analysis of Pacific salmon).

8. Actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for supplies and services is made.

Although there other resellers, the products (consumables) are limited in their availability to manufacturer approved resellers which are primarily public facing commercial vendors.

Additionally, the delivery location Juneau, Alaska further dwindles the supplier pool as items must ship on a Monday to prevent thawing over a weekend as there are no overnight shipping options to Juneau, making the procurement less attractive to potential vendors. Given the niche market and delivery location, it is unlikely that there will be significant expansion in the market availability for the federal government, although other offerors would be considered if they became available.

The procurement is anticipated to be made public in June of 2019 with award anticipated in July of 2019.

9. Technical/Requirements Representative Certification.

I certify that this requirement constitutes the Government’s minimum needs and the supporting data provided herein is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Chuck Guthrie Date Fishery Research Biologist, NMFS, AFSC

5/24/19