Amendment Three.pdf

RFP-75N93024R00024 Page 1 of 4 Amendment Three (3)

75N93024R00024

IN VITRO ASSESSMENTS OF ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY

AMENDMENT THREE (3)

OFFICE OF ACQUISITIONS

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) 5601 Fishers Lane, Room 3D38, MSC 9821 Bethesda, MD 20892-9821

Solicitation Number: 75N93024R00024

Date of Solicitation Issuance: December 30, 2024

Date of Amendment Three (3) Issuance: April 10, 2025

Proposal Due Date and Time: April 24, 2025, 3:00pm EDT (CHANGED)

Number of Pages: 3

Point of Contact:

Primary POC Alexander Beraud, Contract Specialist Email: alexander.beraud@nih.gov

Secondary POC Brian Madgey, Contracting Officer Email: Brian.Madgey@Nih.gov

The purpose of Amendment Three is to:

1. Provide a cut-off date for submission of questions;

2. Provide a new deadline for proposal submissions to eCPS;

3. Provide an updated SBCX (small business subcontract plans) link; and

4. Respond to questions received regarding this solicitation.

Offerors MUST acknowledge receipt of the amendment by Amendment number (s) and date of the amendment. Failure to receive your acknowledgment of this amendment may result in the rejection of your proposal.

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the solicitation remain unchanged and in full force and effect.

mailto:alexander.beraud@nih.gov mailto:Brian.Madgey@Nih.gov

RFP-75N93024R00024 Page 2 of 4

I. Cut-off date to submit questions regarding this solicitation:

All questions regarding this solicitation must be submitted via email to the Point of Contacts listed above by April 16, 2025.

II. New deadline for proposal submissions:

All proposals for this solicitation must be submitted via electronic Contract Proposal Submission System(eCPS) by 3:00 PM EDT on April 24, 2025.

III. Updated SBCX (small business subcontract plans) link:

https://osdbu.hhs.gov/subcontracting/706b6720-b141-460b-b073-3f69efc49646

IV. The Government’s responses to questions received regarding this solicitation are as follows:

1. Question: Does the contractor have to demonstrate capabilities for all Task Areas? Or can we apply for Task A and B for example.

Response: The Offeror can submit proposals to one or more task areas but are not required to submit proposals for all task areas. Yes, an Offeror could submit proposals for Task areas A and B only. If you are submitting a proposal to multiple Task Areas, please understand that you must submit separate technical and business proposals for each Task Area and each of those proposals need to be submitted to the correct Task Area in eCPS. Please do not combine multiple Task Areas into one technical and business proposal.

2. Question: Within Task Areas, can a contractor apply for specific assays or target pathogens or must the contractor have all the outlined assays under each Task Area.

Response: Within a task area, the Offeror may select specific pathogens to propose testing against, as long as they are listed in the sample task order for that task area.

3. Question Can tables/figures have an 8pt font?

Response: Offerors are asked to use 10-12 point font in all sections of the proposal.

4. Question: There appears to be a discrepancy between the 100-page limit in Attachment 1 and the suggested 75-page limit in Attachment 12. Which guidance should be followed?

Response: The page limit is 100 pages. The limits stated in Attachment 12 are suggestions only to provide guidance on the relative length of the different sections.

5. Question: ATCH 12 asks for sample task order descriptions in the technical plan/approach.

Where should the base SOW be described in the proposal?

https://osdbu.hhs.gov/subcontracting/706b6720-b141-460b-b073-3f69efc49646

RFP-75N93024R00024 Page 3 of 4

Response: The Base SOW should be described in the Technical Proposal Overview.

6. Question: Should the VPAT be included in the business proposal in addition to the technical proposal?

Response: The VPAT should be included in the business proposal.

7. Question: The IVAAA solicitation is not listed on the SBCX website. Should the small business plan be included in the business volume instead?

Response: The small business plan should be submitted through the SBCX website. The direct link can be found in Section III above.

8. Question: Is past performance required in the technical proposal in addition to the business volume? If so, should the past performance discussions be included in the Base IDIQ or the Task Order section?

Response: Past Performance should be addressed in the description of overall qualifications in the Base IDIQ.

9. Question: Task Order B - Does NIAID plan to send all testing compounds to the contractor at once, or will it be staggered throughout the period of performance?

Response: Keeping in mind that the Sample Task Order will be used for review purposes only and will not be awarded, shipment of all compounds to be tested would be staggered throughout the period of performance.

10. Question: Task Order B - For costing purposes, what is the maximum number of viruses we need to grow for sample task order B01?

Response:

The maximum number of viruses to be grown depends on the panel selected:

Panel 1: 4 viruses Panel 2: 4-viruses Panel 3: 6 viruses Panel 4: inadvertently left out due to misnumbering Panel 5: 7 viruses Panel 6: 3 viruses

11. Question: There appears to be different requirements for the specific Task A01 than the other Tasks (ref Attachment 13). Can you please clarify whether the detailed breakdown (a to f) on Pages 2-3 required for all Task orders? It is listed on TO D01 in the sample.

Response: Sample Tasks A-01, A-02, B-01, and C-01 are fixed price. Sample D-01 should be budgeted based on cost-reimbursement. To support a cost reimbursement proposal, offerors need to complete the “Breakdown of Proposed Estimated Costs” spreadsheet included in the attachment and provide the additional details in section a-f (pages 3 and 4 of Attachment 13.)

RFP-75N93024R00024 Page 4 of 4

12. Question: For each individual sub-tasks is there a required budget justification?

Response: There should not be a budget broken down by subtask for the purposes of the proposal submission. The budget should reflect the work done on the whole sample task order.

13. What is your guidance on indirect rates used within the business proposal? Should we use our current approved indirect rate, or should we assume from this point forward that they will be capped at 15%?

Response: Offerors should adhere to the rates provided in their negotiated rate agreement.

14. Could you please provide the Proposal Intent Response sheet, referenced in Section J, Attachment Number 2? The link in the solicitation appears to be broken.

Response: The link has been reactivated.

15. Could you also please provide the Section K - Representations, Certifications, and Other

Statements of Offerors, Attachment Number 9? This link is also not working.

Response: The link has been reactivated.

PLEASE NOTE: In the questions/responses above, specific organizational names have been removed or replaced where possible as well as other minor adjustments.

Commented [zli1]: Font is different