BRUKER BIOSPIN CORP.NOTICE OF INTENT.75N94024Q00153.pdf

RFQ# 75N94024Q00153

INTRODUCTION

THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A CONTRACT OR PURCHASE ORDER WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME).

The National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Office of Acquisitions (OA) on behalf of the on behalf of the National Institute of Digestive, Diabetes & Kidney Diseases intends to award a purchase order without providing for full and open competition (Including brand-name) to BRUKER BIOSPIN CORP for the Acquisition of a CryoPlatformTM Maintenance Agreement.

NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE

The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 811210 with a Size Standard of $30.0.

PRIMARY PRODUCT/SERVICE CODE

J066 - MAINT/REPAIR/REBUILD OF EQUIPMENT- INSTRUMENTS AND LABORATORY EQUIPMENT

PURCHASE ORDER TYPE

This purchase order will be Firm Fixed Price, with payment terms per the vendor allowance being a large business (net 30).

REGULATORY AUTHORITY

The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2024-05 Effective May 22, 2024.

This acquisition is conducted under the procedures as prescribed in FAR subpart 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures at an amount not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold ($250,000).

STATUTORY AUTHORITY

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of 41 U.S.C. 253(c) under provisions of the statutory authority of FAR Subpart 6.302- FAR 6.302-1—Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1).

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

Base Year: 9/28/2024 - 9/27/2025

PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS

Place of Performance National Institutes of Health National Institute of Digestive, Diabetes & Kidney Diseases 5 South Drive Bethesda, MD 20892

DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT

The mission of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) is to conduct and support medical research and research training and to disseminate science-based information on diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, nutritional disorders, and obesity; and kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases, to improve people’s health and quality of life.

The NIDDK supports a wide range of medical research through grants to universities and other medical research institutions across the country. The Institute also supports government scientists who conduct basic, translational, and clinical research across a broad spectrum of research topics and serious, chronic diseases and conditions related to the Institute's mission. In addition, the NIDDK supports research training for students and scientists at various stages of their careers and a range of education and outreach programs to bring science-based information to patients and their families, health care professionals, and the public.

The Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometers present in NIDDK are the key instruments of two separate sections in NIDDK (headed by Adriaan Bax and G. Marius Clore (both in the Laboratory of Chemical Physics), focusing on the study of proteins and their relation to health and disease, with emphasis on HIV. The NMR spectrometers in NIDDK, manufactured by Bruker Instruments, each rely on a sophisticated cryogenic probe system that is cooled by a helium driven cryostat to operate at very low temperature. These Bruker CryoPlatformTM consist of the cooling unit that drives the actual cryogenic probe heads. These CryoPlatformTM contain multiple pumps as well as a mechanically driven cryostat.

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

The objective of this requirement is to acquire a CryoPlatformTM Annual Maintenance Agreement to research and gain a fundamental understanding of protein structure and protein-protein as well as protein-drug interaction. NMR spectroscopy has proven to be a powerful tool to investigate these properties, providing invaluable insights into health and disease. Purchase of the maintenance contract is essential to keep the NMR systems (total purchase cost $15M) operational. This requires periodic replacement of worn-out parts as well as immediate repair in case of failure.

SALIENT / REQUIRED FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS

The required features for the CryoPlatformTM Annual Maintenance Agreement are:

• CryoPlatformTM LabScape Select

• Exchange of the primary cooling device in the CryoCooler, the 'cold head',

• Exchange of an adsorber in the He compressor,

• Oil exchange in the vacuum pump,

• Greasing or exchange of the vacuum turbopump bearings,

• Test of pressure safety valves,

• Cleaning the air inlets,

• One cool-down/warm-up cycle as a performance check,

• Check-up of the water chiller.

Location/Point of Contact of the 9 CryoPlatformTM(s) covered in each Laboratory under this requirement are:

• ID 10175641 (700 MHz, Bldg. 6, Rm B127, NIH decal 01932853, end user Adriaan Bax),

• NEO 428585 (499 MHz, Bldg. 50, Rm B204, NIH decal 02172945 end user Adriaan Bax),

• NEO 421134 BH046504 (600 MHz, Bldg. 50, Rm B204, NIH decal 01730158 end user Adriaan Bax),

• BH046704 (500 MHz Bldg. 6, Rm B127, NIH decal 01730549, end user Adriaan Bax),

• NEO 421138 (600 MHz, Bldg. 6/B127, NIH decal 02172949, end user Adriaan Bax),

• ID 10211018 (600 MHz, Bldg. 6/B127, NIH decal 01932854, end user Adriaan Bax),

• NEO 436201 ID 10026129 (800 MHz, Bldg. 50/B204, NIH decal 01835594, end user Adriaan Bax),

• ID10028000 (600 MHz, Bldg. 5/B2-20, NIH decal 01835080, end user Adriaan Bax),

• NEO428582 BH025403 (900 MHz, Bldg. 6/B127, NIH decal 02172947, 01835763, end user Adriaan

Bax)

There are (9) total maintenance plans for each CryoPlatform equipment.

TASKS AREAS

Independently, and not as an agent of the Government, the contractor shall perform all of the detailed Task Areas listed below:

Task Area 1 – Annual Service and Repair – The Contractor shall provide remote diagnosis of the correct functioning of 9 CryoPlatformTM systems, and repairs if needed. All required service and repair shall be carried out by Bruker personnel specifically trained for this work, and work will be initiated within a period of two working days from the time that the vendor detects a system's malfunction or is notified by an NIDDK staff member of a malfunction on the equipment. The Contractor shall cover all expenses associated with any needed repairs, including travel, parts, and labor, but not the cost of cryogens and gases.

Task Area 2 – Cooling Pump Maintenance – The Contractor shall provide overhaul maintenance interval(s) for the cooling system pumps and compressors units once every 10,000 operating hours corresponding to about a 12-month period. The service must be performed by a trained specialist and typically takes two days. The annual maintenance overhaul (CP10K) shall be carried out by trained Bruker personnel and be initiated within a period of one month from the time that the vendor is notified of the need for annual overhaul, and the overhaul contract shall cover all expenses associated with the CryoPlatformTM Annual Maintenance and Overhaul Description, specified below, excluding the cost of cryogens and gases.

Normally, only the life-limited items are replaced when the annual overhaul maintenance is performed. If the service interval is exceeded other parts may become damaged and an in-depth inspection and service is required. The Contractor must have a proven track record of having carried out Annual Maintenance (CP10K) overhauls of Bruker CryoPlatformTM systems. No additional costs are to be incurred because of this overhaul.

Task Area 3 – Equipment Overhaul – The Contract shall provide the equipment overhauls during scheduled visits, which accommodate the needed downtime for the overhaul. Because of the expenses involved with the cost of the Overhauling of the equipment, it is expected that this portion of the contract will be invoiced separately, after the overhauls have been performed, and the bulk expense of this portion of the contract shall be paid in a one-time, net 30 payment.

The Contractor shall provide additional protection for unexpected repairs or malfunctions of the CryoPlatformTM(s). NIDDK shall be afforded priority response time and a qualified Bruker technician will provide any necessary assistance onsite.

Task Area 4 – Service Location – Dr. Adriaan Bax will be the primary point of contact for scheduling annual equipment overhauls to replace worn parts. The address and contact information for the point of contact is:

The National Institutes of Health, NIDDK, Building 5, Room 126, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892.

CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME)

DETERMINATION

The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted as prescribed in FAR Part 10—Market Research. Only one source is available: Per FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) the Contracting Officer has determined BRUKER BIOSPIN CORP to be the only reasonable available source to provide a CryoPlatformTM Maintenance Agreement.

This acquisition was pursued on a sole source basis centered on the following. Bruker Biospin Corp. is the sole commercial vendor who manufacturers the equipment currently utilized at NIDDK and has the experience to facilitate the specialized and complex nature of the equipment that requires periodic maintenance, which is vital to the efficient operation of the costly cryoprobes needed for protein studies. Bruker Biospin Corp.

provides the only authorized engineers specifically trained to perform maintenance and repairs on this proprietary equipment and are qualified to safely carry out such work. Bruker Biospin Corp. engineers are dedicated to the maintenance and repair of Bruker CryoPlatforms and require proprietary components to remain operable, making this vendor uniquely qualified to provide this service.

The NMR spectrometers present in NIDDK are the key instruments of three separate sections in NIDDK (headed by Adriaan Bax and G. Marius Clore (both in the Laboratory of Chemical Physics), focusing on the study of proteins and their relation to health and disease, with emphasis on HIV. The NMR spectrometers in NIDDK, manufactured by Bruker Instruments, each rely on a sophisticated cryogenic probe system that is cooled by helium driven cryostat to operate at very low temperature. These Bruker CryoPlatforms consist of the cooling unit that drives the actual cryogenic probe heads. These CryoPlatforms contain multiple pumps as well as a mechanically driven cryostat. The specialized and sensitive nature of the equipment requiring periodic maintenance is key to the efficient operation of the expensive cryoprobes, needed for protein studies. Only Bruker’s engineers are specifically trained to perform maintenance and repairs on this proprietary equipment.

The lab does not have the specialized, proprietary training needed to fix this instrument. This leaves us with 3 options; (1) episodic per-event payment for repair, (2) direct contract with the instrument vendor, or (3) contracting with an insurance/service management provider as a 3rd party which would indirectly pay for instrument service. Because of the limited number of certified technicians and finite number of spare parts, the episodic approach leads to very long delays in instrument servicing. Disincentives for faster, more expensive repair (where excess parts used in addressing potential approaches to fixing the instrument cannot easily be returned to the contract engineer’s company, BRUKER BIOSPIN CORP) will reduce the efficiency of the 3rd party solution. This results in the need for a direct contracting solution, which is the most effective way of maintaining the instrument. The savings between options 2 and 3 are not as significant relative to the internal revenue from cost recovery which would be lost if there were just a few delays in repair (especially as knock-on effects lead to disproportionate delays in many types of project support).

Direct service by the vendor is superior to third party insurance-like coverage because service provided by technicians from the vendor include delivery of multiple fix kits to cover a single issue prior to a service call.

Third party providers are unable to support a rapid response time to service calls. Failure to use BRUKER BIOSPIN CORP to service the CryoPlatform and its many components may result in voiding any manufacturer warranties on the equipment, delays for software upgrades and repairs, and could result in inaccurate research results that in turn could result in Laboratory of Chemical Physics’ failure to meet its mission.

CLOSING STATEMENT

This synopsis is not a request for competitive proposals. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: descriptive literature, delivery timeframe, warranties and/or other information that demonstrates that the offer meets all the foregoing requirements, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size.

All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.”

A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement.

All responses to this notice shall be submitted electronically by 9:00 am Eastern Standard Time, on Wednesday, July 17, 2024 to the Contract Specialist, Amber Harris, at amber.harris@nih.gov .

Assessment of Capability Lowest Price Technically Acceptable http://www.sam.gov/ mailto:amber.harris@nih.gov