Attachment 2 - JA Restriction of Competition_Redacted.pdf

This is a Decision to Restrict Competition under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold document issued by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The requisition is for a software licenses renewal for Qiagen Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software required by the USDA-Northeast Area Animal Biosciences & Biotechnology facility in Beltsville, Maryland. The requisition number is 1166153, and the Contracting Operation Branch is located in Beltsville, Maryland. The suggested source is Qiagen, LLC, located in Germantown, Maryland (UEI: W2GLKC92ZH73). The USDA justifies restricting competition based on the unique qualifications of the IPA software and its proprietary Knowledge Base. IPA is exclusively designed by Qiagen and provides analysis capabilities for studying diseases and phenotypes by linking genes and compounds. The Knowledge Base contains millions of individually modeled relationships between proteins, genes, complexes, cells, tissues, drugs, and diseases—all curated and reviewed for accuracy by Ph.D. scientists. This proprietary knowledge base is not available through any other vendor, making the software essential for continuity of USDA's ongoing research activities. Without renewal, previously analyzed datasets would have limited utility as access to the Ingenuity Knowledge Base would be lost. The document includes certifications from Technical/Requirements Personnel and the Contracting Officer confirming the requirement meets the Government's minimum need and that supporting data is complete and accurate.