36C24522Q0554.docx

SUBJECT*

Electric Cell-substrate Impedance Sensing (ECIS) System

GENERAL INFORMATION

VA Maryland Health Care System Zachary Altner Contract Specialist (90C) P.O. Box 1000, Bldg. 101B, Room 2 Perry Point MD 21902

POINT OF CONTACT*

Zachary Altner

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

10 North Greene Street

Baltimore, Maryland

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice

DESCRIPTION

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice

See attached RFQ 36C24522Q0554.

This is a Small Business Set-Aside.

Responses are due by 05/12/2022 at 4:00 P.M. EST.

Email responses to Zachary.Altner@va.gov

Description This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 12.6, “Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Items,” as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested, and a written solicitation document will not be issued.

This solicitation is issued as an RFQ. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2021-05.

Note to CO: Obtain the most recent Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) from ACQUISITION.GOV Federal Acquisition Regulation

This solicitation is set-aside for Small Business Set-Aside.

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334516.

The FSC/PSC is 6515.

The Acquisition and Materiel Management office requesting for Baltimore VA Medical Center is seeking to purchase a Electric Cell-substrate Impedance Sensing System (ECIS). This system is required to determine the effect of novel p38 inhibitors to modulate changes in pulmonary endothelial permeability in presence of inflammatory stimuli, the first essential step in screening over 200 compounds for biological activity relevant to ARDS therapeutics.

Additionally, this cell system will be used to evaluate the effect of the novel p38 inhibitors on modulating changes in barrier function in response to different inflammatory stimuli, proliferation and wound healing.

Please refer to the listed decision factors below for details on the minimal requirements needed for this equipment.

This is a Brand Name or Equal Purchase.

All interested companies shall provide quotations for the following:

Supplies/Services

ECIS controller system including channel station controller, including laptop and ECIS Software for Data Collection & Analysis.

96 Well Station including electronics & cables.

Statement of Work

1. Contract Title.

Purchase of Electric Cell-substrate Impedance Sensing (ECIS) system.

2. Background.

Dr. Jeffrey Hasday is conducting Merit Review Award-funded research to develop novel second generation anti-inflammatory substrate-selective p38 MAP kinase inhibitors as therapy for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. The research involves the design and synthesis of analogs of four small molecules with promising endothelial-stabilizing and anti-inflammatory activities and analyzing their biologic and drug-like properties.

3. Scope.

We plan to analyze several hundred commercially available small molecules (Structural Analysis by Catalogue) as well as at least 200 newly designed analogs of our original four compounds. The compounds will be initially screened for binding to p38 MAPK protein using a PCR-based method and for capacity to reduce endothelial permeability using Electric Cell-substrate Impedance Sensing (ECIS). The planned purchase of the ECIS system will give us the capacity to complete the initial screening phase without delay and progress to the more advanced analysis of the most promising compounds.

4. Specific Tasks.

The ECIS instrument will be used in the initial screening phase of analyzing compounds for endothelial-stabilizing activity. Specifically, monolayers of human pulmonary artery endothelial cells will be pretreated with various concentrations of test compound, then with the permeability-inducing agonist, thrombin, while continuously measuring electrical impedance as an indicator of permeability. The compounds with the most activity will be further analyzed for additional biological activity in vitro and tested in a mouse model of acute lung injury.

4.1 Task 1 - Data Management

4.1.1 Subtask 1 - Screening of at least 400 compounds for endothelial-stabilizing activity in human pulmonary artery endothelial cells.

4.1.2 Subtask 2 – Dose response of most promising compounds for endothelial-stabilizing activity.

4.1.3 Subtask 3- Time course of endothelial-stabilizing activity

5. Performance Monitoring The Principal Investigator, Dr. Hasday, will monitor and assess performance of the ECIS system by direct hands on use and by discussing with laboratory personnel who are using the equipment.

6. Security Requirements The basic research performed is not security-sensitive.

7. Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE)/Government-Furnished Information (GFI).

Equipment will be purchased from a commercial vendor.

8. Other Pertinent Information or Special Considerations.

a. Identification of Possible Follow-on Work.

None

b. Identification of Potential Conflicts of Interest (COI).

c. Identification of Non-Disclosure Requirements.

d. Packaging, Packing and Shipping Instructions.

e. Inspection and Acceptance Criteria.

The Principal Investigator, Dr. Hasday, will inspect the device upon delivery and contact the vendor should there be any problems.

Place of Performance/Place of Delivery

10 N. Greene Street Baltimore, MD

The full text of FAR provisions or clauses may be accessed electronically at http://acquisition.gov/comp/far/index.html.

The following solicitation provisions apply to this acquisition:

1. FAR 52.212-1, “Instructions to Offerors–Commercial Items”

2. FAR 52.212-3, “Offerors Representations and Certifications–Commercial Items”

3. FAR 52.211-6, “Brand Name Or Equal”

Offerors must complete annual representations and certifications electronically via the System for Award Management (SAM) website located at https://www.sam.gov/portal in accordance with FAR 52.212-3, “Offerors Representations and Certifications–Commercial Items.” If paragraph (j) of the provision is applicable, a written submission is required.

The following contract clauses apply to this acquisition:

· FAR 52.212-4, “Contract Terms and Conditions–Commercial Items” 03/11/2021

· FAR 52.212-5, “Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders” 03/11/2021

· FAR 52.211-6 “Brand Name Or Equal”

The following subparagraphs of FAR 52.212-5 are applicable:

All quoters shall submit the following: Please see below information in accordance to FAR 52.212-1(b).

Award will be based upon a comparative evaluation of quotes in accordance with the Simplified Acquisition Procedures of FAR 13. Comparative evaluation is the side by side pairwise comparison of quotes based on factors resulting in a Contracting Officer decision for the quote most favorable to the Government.

The following are the decision factors:

· The instrument measures both resistance and impedance at multiple frequencies (impedance spectroscopy).

· The instrument has both small format (8-well) and large format (96-well) options.

· The instrument must be able to make repeated measurements automatically over several hours without contaminating cell cultures while continuously housed in a cell culture incubator.

· The instrument must make simultaneous measurements in multiple wells.

· The instrument should be able to make measurements over time with cells in the incubator.

· This system should be capable of monitoring changes in barrier function in confluent endothelial monolayers.

The award will be made to the response most advantageous to the Government.

Responses should contain your best terms, conditions and shipping costs.

(b) Submission of offers. Submit signed and dated offers to the office specified in this solicitation at or before the exact time specified in this solicitation. Offers may be submitted on the SF 1449, letterhead stationery, or as otherwise specified in the solicitation. As a minimum, offers must show—

(1) The solicitation number;

(2) The time specified in the solicitation for receipt of offers;

(3) The name, address, and telephone number of the offeror;

(4) A technical description of the items being offered in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with the requirements in the solicitation. This may include product literature, or other documents, if necessary;

(5) Terms of any express warranty;

(6) Price and any discount terms;

(7) "Remit to" address, if different than mailing address;

(8) A completed copy of the representations and certifications at FAR 52.212-3 (see FAR 52.212-3(b) for those representations and certifications that the offeror shall complete electronically);

(9) Acknowledgment of Solicitation Amendments;

(10) Past performance information, when included as an evaluation factor, to include recent and relevant contracts for the same or similar items and other references (including contract numbers, points of contact with telephone numbers and other relevant information); and

(11) If the offer is not submitted on the SF 1449, include a statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. Offers that fail to furnish required representations or information or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration.

(c) Period for acceptance of offers. The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 30 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers, unless another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation.

(d) Product samples. When required by the solicitation, product samples shall be submitted at or prior to the time specified for receipt of offers. Unless otherwise specified in this solicitation, these samples shall be submitted at no expense to the Government, and returned at the sender’s request and expense, unless they are destroyed during pre-award testing.

(e) Multiple offers. Offerors are encouraged to submit multiple offers presenting alternative terms and conditions, including alternative line items (provided that the alternative line items are consistent with subpart 4.10 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation), or alternative commercial items for satisfying the requirements of this solicitation. Each offer submitted will be evaluated separately.

To facilitate the award process, all quotes must include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows:

"The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition."

OR

"The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:"

Quoters shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s), if any.

Submission of your response shall be received not later than 05/12/2022 at 4:00 P.M. EST. to Zachary.Altner@va.gov.

Late submissions shall be treated in accordance with the solicitation provision at FAR 52.212-1(f).

(f) Late submissions, modifications, revisions, and withdrawals of offers.

(1) Offerors are responsible for submitting offers, and any modifications, revisions, or withdrawals, so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. If no time is specified in the solicitation, the time for receipt is 4:30 p.m., local time, for the designated Government office on the date that offers, or revisions are due.

Any questions or concerns regarding this solicitation should be forwarded in writing via e-mail to the Point of Contact listed below.

Point of Contact Zachary Altner, Contract Specialist, 410-642-2411 x.25262, Zachary.Altner@va.gov Rebecca Gobble, Contract Officer, 410-642-2411 x.26534, Rebecca.Gobble@va.gov

VHAPM Part 813.106 SAP: Soliciting Competition & Evaluation of Quotations SOP Page 13 of 13 Original Date: 10/12/17 Revision 04 Date: 06/10/20 image1.emf image2.emf