5-Specs RFP 26-543.pdf

SPECIFICATIONS FOR RFP 26-543

BENCHTOP BIOREACTOR SYSTEM FOR MAMMALIAN CELL

CULTURE AND GMP BIOPROCESS EDUCATION

SECTION A – STATEMENT OF PUPROSE

Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) is seeking an experienced and qualified vendor to provide one (1) benchtop bioreactor system to support hands-on instruction in mammalian cell culture and Good Manufacturing Procedures (GMP) biomanufacturing workflows within an undergraduate biotechnology program. The system must be appropriate for use by students with limited prior laboratory experience and must reflect equipment and practices found in current biopharmaceutical industry settings.

SECTION B – INTRODUCTION

Founded in 1953, Hudson Valley Community College is the largest community college in upstate New York and offers degree and certificate programs in three schools: Business and Liberal Arts; Health Sciences; and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM); and also administers the Educational Opportunity Center for academic and career training at no cost to those who qualify. One of 30 community colleges in the SUNY system, Hudson Valley enrolls more than 19,000 students in credit and non-credit courses and is a recognized leader in distance learning and workforce development. The college has more than 90,000 alumni.

Hudson Valley Community College is a 110-acre community college located in Troy, New York. The facilities consist of 24 buildings with an approximate square footage of 1,600,000.

SECTION C – PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Dual-vessel simultaneous control from a single HMI reflects a genuine pedagogical need. In a laboratory course, an instructor must be able to monitor multiple student-run experiments concurrently. A system requiring separate hardware or a dedicated PC per vessel creates both cost and supervision barriers in a classroom setting.

No advanced training should be required for configuration and maintenance.

Instructional Goals

The system will be used to teach students to:

• Set up, operate, and monitor a stirred-tank bioreactor for mammalian cell culture

• Understand and apply GMP principles including aseptic technique, documentation, and contamination control

• Interpret real-time process data (pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, agitation)

• Recognize the difference between single-use and multi-use bioprocessing approaches

• Conduct parallel experiments under instructor supervision

These goals shall inform all specification requirements below:

SECTION D - SCOPE OF WORK

VESSEL REQUIREMENTS

• Working volume: 0.5L to 5L, appropriate for benchtop mammalian cell culture

• System must support both multi-use (autoclavable) and single-use vessel formats from the same control platform, so students can be trained on both approaches within the same course.

• Vessels must be constructed of materials suitable for mammalian cell culture (e.g., borosilicate glass or approved single-use polymers)

• Assembly and disassembly shall be straightforward enough for students to perform with standard laboratory training, without requiring specialized tools or vendor support

CONTROL SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

• A single controller shall operate both vessel types without requiring separate hardware purchases, keeping system cost manageable and lab footprint compact

• The controller shall be capable of expanding to support simultaneous operation of a minimum of two (2) bioreactor vessels from a single integrated Human Machine Interface (HMI) without requiring replacement of the control unit, to protect the institution's investment as the program grows

• Controller shall support a minimum of four (4) pumps and four (4) gas/flow control channels to accommodate standard mammalian cell culture process parameters

• Sensor connectivity shall be simple and reliable, minimizing setup errors by novice users; plug-and-play sensor connection is strongly preferred

• Built-in data acquisition and logging shall be included as a native feature of the control system, without requiring separate software purchases or IT configuration

USER INTERFACE AND EASE OF USE REQUIREMENTS

• The system shall include an integrated touchscreen display of sufficient size for clear viewing in a classroom or laboratory setting

• The interface shall present process parameters in a clear, visual format accessible to students without prior bioprocess control experience

• Individual process parameters (pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, agitation) shall be independently viewable and adjustable, supporting step-by-step student instruction

• The system shall not require advanced technical training to configure, operate, or perform routine maintenance. Faculty shall be able to train new students each semester without vendor intervention.

Systems designed primarily for experienced research scientists or requiring specialist configuration support will not meet this requirement.

• The software shall not require programming knowledge to operate at a standard instructional level

• Remote monitoring capability from an instructor workstation is desirable and shall be available as a future upgrade path as the program expands

SECTION E – SCHEDULE

To ensure training is completed before the beginning of the academic year in late August, the system must be implemented by the end of June.

SECTION F – VENDOR QUALIFICATIONS

TRAINING AND SUPPORT

• Vendor should have qualified technical staff capable of performing installation, calibration, validation, and routine maintenance.

• Vendor shall provide installation support and initial on-site operator training sufficient for faculty to independently instruct students on system operation going forward

• User documentation shall be written at a level appropriate for undergraduate students

• Vendor shall have an established presence in the educational and life sciences market with demonstrated experience supporting academic laboratory programs. Vendors should provide documentation that demonstrates prior experience.

• Ongoing vendor support shall be available without requiring specialized service contracts for routine operation. This includes technical advice and consultation, technical support for operational issues and troubleshooting, software updates, and onsite repairs.

WARRANTY AND SERVICE

• Minimum one (1) year parts and labor warranty from date of installation

• Vendor shall provide U.S.-based technical support beyond warranty period.

• Replacement parts and consumables shall be readily available without extended lead times.

• HVCC will determine if an extended warranty is necessary based on the proposal received. HVCC is not committed to acquiring an extended warranty.

Failure to comply with all requirements listed here will be grounds for rejection of your proposal. The college reserves the right to determine that a vendor has substantially met the proposal requirements and/or to ask for additional information, to interview vendor and/or to visit vendor’s office(s) and disposal sites.

SECTION G – EVALUATION CRITERIA

Proposals will be evaluated on functional compliance with all specifications above suitability for undergraduate instruction, ease of use for a rotating student population, total cost of ownership including consumables, warranty terms, and quality of vendor support for educational institutions.

Compatibility with existing institutional training investments and alignment with established educational partnerships will be considered in the evaluation of proposals.

Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria:

Functional Compliance-30% Ease of Use-30% Cost-30% Vendor Support -10%

SECTION H- TERMS & CONDITIONS

HVCC may make such an investigation as it deems necessary to determine the responsibility of any bidder or to determine the ability of any bidder to perform the work. The College reserves the right to disqualify any prospective bidder or reject any bid if evidence required by the College from the bidder is not submitted or if the evidence submitted or investigation of any such bidder fails to satisfy the College that any budder is responsible, able, or qualified to carry out the obligations of the contract or to complete the work as contemplated therein.

The successful vendor must complete and sign the Service and Supply Agreement located in the purchasing website.

Vendor Agrees to have read and complied with all terms and conditions of the specification and bid legal terms

Awarded contractors may not enter into any subcontracts without prior written consent from Hudson Valley Community College.

Evaluations for awards shall be completed within 30 days of bid submission deadline.

HVCC will provide written confirmation of final acceptance within 10 days after all testing and training is completed and system is ready to go live into operation.

SECTION I – SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Questions regarding the RFP must be submitted through the Bonfire portal.

Vendors must submit proposals using our online application system, Euna Solutions (Bonfire), located at:

https://hvcc.bonfirehub.com no later than the Submission Deadline. Requests for extensions will not be granted; late applications will not be accepted. Vendors are strongly encouraged to submit at least a few days prior to the deadline given the potential for high website traffic on the due date. HVCC cannot guarantee availability of Online Application System technical assistance on the deadline date. For assistance in using Bonfire, please email support@gobonfire.com or call 1-800-354-8010. If email confirmation is not received within two business days, please contact the Purchasing office:

Proposals can also be mailed or hand delivered must be sealed and have the RFP name and number on the envelope:

Tabitha D’Attilio Director of Procurement Address: Hudson Valley Community College Administration Building, Room 240 80 Vandenburgh Ave Troy, NY 12180

SECTION J – CONTACTS

Issuing Office

Natural and Applied Sciences https://hvcc.bonfirehub.com/ mailto:support@gobonfire.com

Donna Barron D.barron@hvcc.edu mailto:D.barron@hvcc.edu