B01-Notice of Intent to Sole Source.pdf

Notice of Intent to Sole Source

Date: 16 August 2023

Contracting Office Address – US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), 820 Chandler Street, Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5014

Subject: Notice of Intent to Sole Source – Mass Spectrometer System Waters TQ-S, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, (WRAIR)

Solicitation Number: HT942523Q140

The United States Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) intends to negotiate on a sole source basis IAW FAR 6.302-1 with Waters Technologies Corporation, Milford, MA

The vision for WRAIR is to be the premier DoD biomedical research organization, constantly relevant, integrating basic research and advanced technology that protects, projects, and sustains the Warfighter today, invents global medical solutions for the future, and keeps the Warfighter on point for the Nation. WRAIR hosts three Centers of Excellence for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience Research, Military Infectious Disease Research, and Enabling Capabilities Research; each center ranging from blast induced neurotrauma to malaria vaccine development.

The WRAIR Experimental Therapeutics (ET) Branch is a drug discovery and development enterprise created to protect military personnel from death, disease, and injury to meet army and DoD mission requirements. The Mass Spectrometer (MS) is an analytical platform used daily by the ET Branch to verify the presence of compounds based on their respective molecular weight. It is a crucial part of the analytical setup necessary to analyze results from all assays run in the Drug Metabolism and Disposition section. This requirement is for replacement of the ET Branch’s current MS platform, which has reached the end of its lifecycle

This requirement is to supply a Waters Xevo TQ Absolute System and an ACQUITY UPLC H-Class PLUS Binary Systems for the ET Branch at WRAIR. This is a Firm Fixed Price contract with DHP Operation and Maintenance (O&M) funds. Upon delivery, the vendor will also provide proper installation of the systems, provide 3 days of professional service training for end-users, remove the old system, and provide a 1-year warranty including preventative maintenance.

Objectives

The objective of this contract is to remove the previous Waters MS System, install a new Waters Xevo TQ Absolute System, train the end-users in its procedures, and provide a one-year preventative maintenance warranty.

SPECIFIC TASKS

5.1 Basic Services: The Contractor shall provide delivery, installation, training, and maintenance services to keep the covered instrument(s) in good working order throughout the term of this service agreement using genuine service parts and consumables.

5.2 Tasks: Tasks consist of the following:

5.2.1 Delivery and Installation. The Contractor shall deliver and install one Waters Xevo TQ Absolute System and one Uninterruptable Power Supply 5.2K, meeting the minimum essential characteristics in section 5.2.7 within 60 days of award. The contractor shall ensure that the instrument is tested and functional upon installation. The contractor shall make sure that no part of the equipment is missing, undelivered or damaged and that the instrument as a whole is delivered, complete and functional. The contractor shall provide a Point of Contact (POC) to assist with any technical discrepancies and malfunctions throughout the lifecycle of the equipment. The contractor shall provide delivery documentation to the WRAIR staff prior to leaving the facility, which shall be signed by the Government and the contractor. The contractor shall provide quality assurance/inspection documentation after installation, to ensure machine is installed and functioning properly (A.001).

5.2.2 Removal of On-Site MS. The Contractor shall remove the previously used Waters MS system and recycle and/or dispose of it IAW industry standards.

5.2.3 Equipment Training. The Contractor shall provide three days of onsite new equipment training during normal duty hours. The contractor shall ensure that users of equipment receive appropriate training to maintain their skills and certifications necessary to operate the instrument throughout WRAIR. Training courses for users shall be offered at the WRAIR site on the newly installed equipment. Training report to confirm completion of training should be delivered No Later Than (NLT) ten days after training completion (A.002).

5.2.4 Planned Preventive Maintenance:

The Contractor shall provide two scheduled maintenance visit per year that includes:

(a) Performance assurance checks

(b) Functionality and safety checks

(c) Safety inspections IAW all applicable regulations

(d) Components check

(e) Device Software update

(f) Routine inspections and replacement of parts

Following each scheduled preventative maintenance, the contractor shall provide a service report to include calibration certificate and performance measurements

5.2.5 Emergency Repair Services:

The contractor shall provide repair services that apply to instrument defects and arrangement of the parts and labor for all necessary repairs. Emergency repair service calls are to be responded to within 48 hours. The response will establish an appointment to repair the bioprocess. The contractor shall provide a written report that details the nature of the repair, parts supplied, and labor hours required.

The contractor shall also provide a field service report once per event basis

5.2.6 Technical Support Services:

The contractor shall maintain a high level of availability, with low wait time, to provide customer technical support that includes interactive telephone support for the purpose of resolving technical support incidents between the hours of 0700-1900 EST from Monday to Friday, excluding Federal holidays and a detailed service documentation. The contractor shall maintain a service log that details the technical support provided, how the requirement was resolved, and recommended actions if the requirement was not resolved

5.2.7 Minimum Essential Characteristics (MECs):

• Shall have dimensions with maximum specifications: width 45cm X height 80cm X depth 100cm.

• Shall be able to operate on the Masslynx platform.

• Shall have a mass range up to 2000 m/z.

• Shall have scan speeds up to 20,000 Da/sec.

• Shall use dual orthogonal geometry to enable efficient transmission of ions into analyzer at the same time as providing robust removal of non-ionized materials (neutrals).

• Shall have a detachable and replaceable ion source system, which allows the user to change between different ionization techniques including features to ensure safe connection of ion source modules without leaks.

• Shall have an ion source with a shield to protect surfaces from solvents and matrix contamination.

• Shall have an infusion device must be integral to the instrument and must be controllable from the instrument software. At least 3 user-changeable sample vials should be built into the system to allow tuning and calibration solutions to be infused into the probe via a selection valve. A fourth vial should be available containing the wash solution to ensure the system is ready to analyze the next tuning or calibration solution.

• Shall have an ion detection system must be within its own vacuum envelope for long life.

• Shall have the ability to switch between MS (full scan) and MS/MS (which includes Multiple

Reaction Monitoring (MRM); product ion scanning; parent ion scanning; and neutral loss scanning) acquisition modes in 3 ms without compromising data quality in either mode. The collision gas pressure is maintained at a constant value, which is optimal for both MS and MS/MS acquisition modes.

THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE QUOTATIONS.

Responsible, interested parties may identify their interest by submitting capability information, in writing, by 10:00 p.m. est. 30 August 2023 to Mr. Nathaniel Reus at Nathaniel.a.reus.civ@health.mil.

Supporting evidence must be furnished in suffici3nt detail to demonstrate the firm’s ability to provide the stated capability.

Responses will be evaluated; however, a determination by the Government not to compete the proposed procurement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. If no responses are received, USAMRAA will proceed with the sole source contract.

mailto:Nathaniel.a.reus.civ@health.mil