BD NOI.pdf

NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT

Notice Number: NIH-NOI-26-PCA-NIDCR-01222 Posted Date: June 15, 2026 Response Due Date: June 25, 2026, 11:00am EST Classification Code: 6640 – Laboratory Equipment and Supplies NAICS Code: 334516 – Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing

1. Agency and Contracting Activity Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Logistics and Acquisition Operations (OLAO)

For:

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) Division of Intramural Research (DIR) Combined Technical Research Core (CTRC)

2. Action Being Announced This is a notice of intent, and not a request for competitive quotations, proposals, or bids.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), on behalf of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), intends to negotiate and award a firm-fixed-price sole source contract to:

Becton, Dickinson and Company / BD Biosciences [Address to be inserted, if applicable] for the acquisition of one (1) BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter, including required configuration, delivery, installation, biosafety-compliant hood, and standard warranty coverage.

Project Number: PCA-NIDCR-01222 Project Title: BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter

3. Statutory Authority

The Government intends to award this requirement on a sole source basis pursuant to:

• 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements; and

• as applicable to this acquisition, 41 U.S.C. 1901 and FAR 13.501(a)(1)(ii).

This requirement will be processed as an open-market acquisition.

4. Description of Requirement The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), Division of Intramural Research (DIR), Combined Technical Research Core (CTRC), requires the acquisition of a highly specialized commercial laboratory instrument to replace aging and end-of-life cell sorting instruments and to provide advanced capabilities necessary to support current and future NIH intramural research.

The required instrument must provide, at a minimum, the following capabilities:

1. Cell sorting capability for high-parameter research applications;

2. Spectral flow cytometry capability;

3. Integrated real-time imaging during acquisition and/or sorting;

4. Ability to analyze and sort cells based on fluorescence/spectral signatures, morphology, and image-derived parameters;

5. Support for rare-cell sorting;

6. Support for index sorting and plate sorting; and

7. A biosafety-compliant configuration suitable for sorting human cells in NIH research environments.

The anticipated delivery period is 60 to 90 days after award for delivery, installation, and acceptance. The acquisition includes a one-year warranty following installation and acceptance.

5. Background CTRC currently supports approximately 15 Principal Investigators and more than 16 users who rely on fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) for a broad range of scientific applications. Annual sorter usage exceeds 600 hours and continues to increase.

The primary instrument requiring replacement is the BD FACSAria III, which has been in service for more than 14 years and has reached end-of-life status. The system has obsolete optics and electronics, operates on an unsupported operating system, and no longer meets current NIH operational, biosafety, or IT compliance standards. In addition, the integrated biosafety cabinet hood is obsolete and irreparable, and replacement parts are no longer available. Vendor support is expected to end in 2026 due to lack of replacement parts.

The acquisition will also support replacement of the Sony SH800, which is more than 10 years old and has already been semi-retired. The SH800’s limited optical configuration and aging electronics restrict its usefulness for current high-parameter applications, and CTRC plans to fully retire the instrument by the end of 2025.

At the same time, CTRC investigators increasingly perform high-parameter experiments using the Cytek Aurora spectral flow cytometer, routinely analyzing panels with more than 20 colors. While the Aurora provides advanced spectral analysis, CTRC’s current sorters do not provide equivalent spectral sorting capability and cannot sort many of the complex populations identified during spectral analysis. This creates a significant gap between analysis and downstream cell isolation.

6. Sole Source Determination In accordance with FAR Part 10, market research was conducted to identify commercially available instruments capable of meeting the Government’s minimum requirements.

Market research included, but was not limited to:

• review of manufacturer product literature and publicly available commercial information;

• review of recent market research for similar or identical requirements;

• review of Federal procurement history using USAspending.gov;

• review of GSA sources;

• review of SBA Quick Market Research;

• review of the Interagency Contract Directory; and

• direct inquiry regarding availability.

Manufacturers reviewed included:

• BD Biosciences

• Cytek Biosciences

• Sony Biotechnology

• Beckman Coulter

• Miltenyi Biotec

The Government compared available products against the required salient characteristics, including:

• sort-capable spectral flow cytometry;

• integrated real-time imaging;

• image-informed sorting capability;

• support for rare-cell sorting;

• support for index sorting and plate sorting; and

• biosafety-compliant configuration suitable for NIH use.

Based on the market research performed, the Government determined that Becton, Dickinson and Company / BD Biosciences is the only source capable of providing a commercially available instrument that meets all of the Government’s minimum requirements in a single integrated platform.

Specifically, the BD FACSDiscover™ S8 was the only commercially available instrument identified that provides:

• spectral flow cytometry;

• cell sorting;

• integrated real-time imaging;

• image-informed analysis and sorting;

• support for rare-cell sorting;

• support for index sorting and plate sorting; and

• a biosafety-compliant configuration suitable for NIH use.

No other manufacturer reviewed was found to offer an equivalent commercially available system meeting all required technical characteristics.

7. Procurement History A review of USAspending.gov identified prior NIH awards for the same specialized instrument from Becton, Dickinson and Company, including:

• Prime Award ID 75N95023P00612, awarded in the amount of $834,695.07, award description: FACSDiscover S8 Cell Sorter; and

• Prime Award ID 75N93023P01195, awarded in the amount of $776,765.60, award description: Purchase of one (1) BD Biosciences FACSDiscover 8S Cell Sorter Instrument

(AMBIS #2174785).

These prior acquisitions support the conclusion that BD is the established Federal source for this platform.

8. Responses from Interested Sources This notice is not a solicitation. However, any responsible source that believes it is capable of meeting the Government’s requirement may submit a capability statement for consideration.

Interested parties must demonstrate, through clear and convincing documentation, their ability to provide an equivalent commercially available instrument that satisfies all of the Government’s minimum requirements identified in this notice.

Capability statements shall include, at a minimum:

• product name and manufacturer;

• technical specifications;

• descriptive literature or brochures;

• explanation of how the product meets each required salient characteristic; and

• evidence of availability of a biosafety-compliant configuration suitable for NIH use.

Responses must be received no later than June 25, 2026, 11:00am EST.

Responses shall be submitted electronically to:

Primary Contact:

Linda Smith Email: linda.smith2@nih.gov

Secondary Contact:

Danielle Tines Email: danielle.tines@nih.gov

The subject line shall reference:

Notice Number NIH-NOI-26-PCA-NIDCR-01222

9. Government Notice This notice is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute a request for proposals, quotations, or bids. The Government does not intend to pay for any information submitted in response to this notice.

All responses received by the closing date will be reviewed by the Government solely for the purpose of determining whether competitive sources exist. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed action, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government.

Attachment A

Bill of Materials (BOM)

Agency: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH) Institute/Office: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), Division of Intramural Research (DIR), Combined Technical Research Core (CTRC) Project Number: PCA-NIDCR-01222 Project Title: BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter Vendor/Manufacturer: Becton, Dickinson and Company / BD Biosciences Quotation Reference: BDB 2025-112062 v3

Purpose

This Bill of Materials identifies the required components, accessories, consumables, and training associated with the acquisition of one BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter system.

Bill of Materials

CLIN Part No. Description Qty Unit 0001 665158 BD FACSDiscover S8 BRVYGUV 5L 1 Each

0002 99-30211- 00 BD FACSflow Sheath Fluid 20L 2 Each

0003 665056 FACSDiscover Setup MSB 150 Test 1 Each 0004 665055 BD CellView Calibration Beads 1 Each 0005 661612 BD FACS Accudrop Beads 1 Each 0006 340334 Trucount Absolute Counting Tubes IVD 1 Each 0007 653144 Beads SPHEROTECH 8 Peak Validation 4mL 1 Each 0008 666998 Coolant UV Blue 700mL 3 Each 0009 665026 FACSDiscover Temp Control 100V/115V/230V 1 Each 0010 665773 FACSDiscover Bio-Safety Cabinet US 1 Each 0011 665816 Table Side BSC FACSDiscover 1 Each 0012 666780 FACSDiscover Air Compressor 120V/50HZ 1 Each 0013 569991 Anti-Rodent Compensation Particles 1 Each 0014 664017 Software Assurity Linc RSS 1 Each

0015 666323 Svc Contr FACSDiscover S8 BRVYGUV – Extended Warranty: One Year 1 Each

0016 N/A Shipping and Handling 1 Lot

Notes

1. This BOM is provided for procurement and acquisition planning purposes.

2. Pricing information is intentionally omitted.

3. Quantities reflect the manufacturer’s quoted configuration for the required system.

4. Delivery, installation, and standard warranty requirements, if applicable, shall be addressed in the solicitation and/or award document.

5. The parent quoted system line item, “FACSDiscover S8,” is represented in this BOM through the detailed component line items above.