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Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition at or Below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold

Project Title: Single-cell technologies for Gene Expression Analysis of Parasites and Vectors in LMVR

Identification of the agency and contracting activity

Description of the project, and supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs

Project Background:

Cutting edge scientific investigations to control, treat, and prevent malaria and other vector-borne diseases such as Dengue, Leishmaniasis, and Lyme disease are pursued by scientists at the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research (LMVR). The new ability to analyze single-cell genomics and transcriptomics allow us to better understand unicellular parasites in various conditions, using less than 10,000 viable and fresh cells per experiment. To establish single-cell capabilities and investigate human parasite transcriptomics we have purchased the Becton, Dickinson & Co (BD) FACS Aria Fusion and the companion gentle cell sorter BD Rhapsody, a unique equipment used to carefully sort and isolate healthy and live cells to generate scRNA sequence. Due to the uniqueness of the BD Rhapsody sorter, the instrument compatible materials and reagent kits needed are only manufactured by BD. Therefore, the BD brand name reagents and kits are the only acceptable supply for use in the BD Rhapsody instrumentation.

Description of the supplies or services to be purchased:

Rhapsody Targeted mRNA AbSeq Kit 4 Pack, BD Rhapsody WTA Reagent Kit 4 pack, Ab-O Single Cell Sample Multiplexing Kit, Ms Single Cell Sample Multiplexing Kit, Calcein AM 1mg, DRAQ7 1.0mL. These reagents are required by the BD Rhapsody cell sorting system to enable researchers to sort and isolate single-cell gently and discover previously inaccessible genomic and transcriptomic information at massive rate and scale, allowing users to phase resolved structural variants, single nucleotide variants and indels, produce dynamic gene expression profiles from thousands of individual cells.

Identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition ☒ 41 USC 1901(a)(1) and FAR Part 13.106-1: Only one responsible source (Brand-name)

Demonstration that the proposed contractor unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

Name and address of the proposed contractor Becton, Dickinson & Co. DBA BD Biosciences One Becton Drive Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417 Tel: 877.232.8995 Fax: 408.954.6306

Describe why only the requested supply/service will meet the government’s needs To establish single-cell omics capabilities in the LMVR, a BD Rhapsody single-cell fluidics separator equipment was procured together with the BD FACS Aria Fusion cell sorter. Due to the BD Rhapsody’s exclusive requirements and unique capacity to isolate healthy and live cells to generate scRNA sequence, materials and reagents needed for the operation of the BD Rhapsody instrument are specific to the instrument and only manufactured by BD, which is the only acceptable brand name of the required supplies.