36C24724Q0126_2 RFI RNA and MiRNA sequencing.docx

Sources Sought Notice Sources Sought Notice

GENERAL INFORMATION

SET-ASIDE

CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS

Department of Veterans Affairs W.J.B. Dorn VA Medical Center 6439 Garners Ferry Road Columbia SC 29209-1639

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contract Specialist Janet Smith janet.smith@va.gov 803-776-4000 ext 56610

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

700 19 St. S

(Research results will be sent to here)

Birmingham SC

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY CONTACT’S EMAIL ADDRESS

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION

This Sources Sought Notice is for planning and market research purposes only. Response(s) to this Sources Sought Notice will be treated as information only. A solicitation does not exist at this time.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veteran Health Administration (VHA) Network Contracting Office – 7 (NCO7) is conducting market research to determine industry capabilities to provide multi-disciplined services to support the Birmingham VA Healthcare System.

The contractor shall be responsible for providing Birmingham VA Health Care System RNA and MiRNA sequencing. Specific expertise needed include but are not limited to:

1. Title of Project: Therapeutic potential of HuR inhibitors in Spinal cord injury and spare nerve injury

2. Scope of Work: The core has all the instruments needed to perform the mentioned experiments and provide all needed technical support and all other resources required to deliver the requirements stated herein.

3. Background: This service is required as a one-time testing is needed to support the Birmingham VA Medical Center’s project. Next generation of RNA sequencing service is required for providing pertinent data to explore sex differences in immune cell-specific HuR inhibition following spare nerve injury.

The service includes: Total RNA and miRNA sequencing

· A Quality Control analysis will be performed on the total RNA sample and the results will be posted for review and approval. If the quantity and quality fall within the protocol specifications, VANTAGE will perform library preparation utilizing a globin and ribo-depletion total RNA library preparation kit. Sequencing will be performed at Paired-End 150 bp on the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 targeting an average of 50M reads per sample. QC reports for the sequencing quality and the per sample yield will be provided. The file deliverable is a demultiplexed FASTQ containing the PF reads. Intermediate analysis is also available through Illumina’s Dragen RNASeq pipeline.

· A Quality Control analysis will be performed on the total RNA sample and the results will be posted for review and approval. If the quantity and quality fall within the protocol specifications, VANTAGE will perform miRNA library preparation utilizing NextFlex sample prep kit. The samples will be sequenced on NovaSeq 6000 (targeting 10-15M reads/sample). QC reports for the sequencing quality and the per sample yield will be provided. The file deliverable is a demultiplexed FASTQ containing the PF reads. Further bioinformatics services are available upon request.

4. Performance Period: Base year beginning upon award of contract plus one month

5. Type of Contract: Firm-fixed price.

The information received will be used by Veterans Health Administration contracting office to facilitate the decision-making process. This Sources Sought Notice is one facet in the Governments overall market research in regard to whether the proposed solicitation will be issued as a competitive set-aside or as full and open (unrestricted). The procurement strategy will not be determined based solely on the information received in response to this Sources Sought Synopsis.

No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement or any follow-up information requests. This notice does not constitute a Request for Proposal and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government for any purpose other than market research. Respondents will not be notified of the results of this market research.

Interested parties are advised that in accordance with the Veterans First Contracting program under 38 U.S.C. 8127-8128, as implemented under VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) subpart 819.70 and VA Procurement Policy Memorandum 2016-05 Implementation of the Veterans First Contracting Program, if the Contracting Officer has a reasonable expectation that two or more small business concerns owned and controlled by Service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) concerns will submit responses to the solicitation and that award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers the best value to the United States, the requirement will be set-aside for SDVOSB concerns. If an SDVOSB set-aside is not appropriate, the requirement will be evaluated to determine whether a Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB) set-aside is appropriate. The term SDVOSB / VOSB under the Veterans First Contracting program has the same meaning as defined in FAR subpart 2.101, except for acquisitions authorized by 38 U.S.C. 8127 and 8128 for the Veterans First Contracting Program SDVOSB and VOSB concerns must be listed as verified in the Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database at https://www.vip.vetbiz.gov in addition to meeting the NAICS code small business size standard to be eligible for award under Veterans First Contracting Program set-asides.

Interested sources are invited to respond to this source sought notice in writing by providing a capabilities statement which reflects the interested source’s ability to provide the services listed, relevant prior/current experience providing the same/similar service and DUNS number. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements. At minimum submission of capability statement strongly encouraged.

Respond to this Sources Sought Notice by December 1, 2023 at 4:30 pm EST. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice must be emailed to janet.smith@va.gov.

Sources Sought Notice