BRUKER BIOSPIN.NOTICE OF INTENT.NICHD-23-229.pdf

RFQ# NICHD-23-229

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.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY

The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-04 Effective June 2, 2023.

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: 9/28/2023 - 9/27/2024

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

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

DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT

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 procure 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 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)

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, Ph. 301-496-2848.

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.

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.

This acquisition was pursued on a sole source basis centered on the fact that 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.

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. Any submitted capability statements must demonstrate relevant experience, skills and ability to fulfill the Government's requirements for the above. The capability statement should contain sufficient detail for the Government to make an informed decision regarding your capabilities. The capability statement should not exceed 15 pages using a font size 10 or larger. 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 http://www.sam.gov/ considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement.

Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.

All responses to this notice shall be submitted electronically by 9:00 am Eastern Standard Time, on Monday, July 10, 2023 to the Contract Specialist, Amber Harris, at amber.harris@nih.gov.

INVOICING PROCESSING PLATFORM (IPP)

Vendor/Contractor Must be able to accept payments via IPP (Invoice Processing Platform) The contractor may submit a request for an exception. See below for IPP, IPP helpdesk information and applicable Health and Human Services addendum clause.

INVOICING PROCESSING PLATFORM (IPP) In compliance with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) M-15-19 memorandum "Improving Government Efficiency and Saving Taxpayer Dollars through Electronic Invoicing" directing Federal agencies to adopt electronic invoicing as the primary means to disburse payment to vendors. Invoices submitted under any award resulting from this solicitation will be required to utilize the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) in accordance with HHSAR 352.232-71, Electronic Submission and Processing of Payment Requests" IPP is a secure, web-based electronic invoicing system provided by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service, in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRSTL). Respondents to this solicitation are encouraged to register an account with IPP if they have not already done so. If your organization is already registered to use IPP, you will not be required to re-register however, we encourage you make sure your organization and designated IPP user accounts are valid and up to date. The IPP website address is: https://www.ipp.gov If you require assistance registering or IPP account access, please contact the IPP Helpdesk at (866) 973-3131 (M-F 8AM to 6PM ET), or IPPCustomerSupport@fiscal.treasury.gov Note: Should an Offeror feel that use of the IPP would be unduly burdensome, the response to this solicitation should include an explanation of this position for a determination by the contracting officer.

HHSAR 352.232-71 Electronic Submission of Invoice Payment Requests (Feb 2022) will apply when this requirement is solicited and awarded. As stated: (a) Definitions. As used in this clause, Payment request means a bill, voucher, invoice, or request for contract financing payment with associated supporting documentation. The payment request must comply with the requirements identified in FAR 32.905(b), "Content of Invoices" and the applicable Payment clause included in this contract. (b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this clause, the Contractor shall submit payment requests electronically using the Department of Treasury Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) or successor system. Information regarding IPP, including IPP Customer Support contact information, is available at www.ipp.gov or any successor site. (c) The Contractor may submit payment requests using other than IPP only when the Contracting Officer authorizes alternate procedures in writing in accordance with HHS procedures. (d) If alternate payment procedures are authorized, the Contractor shall include a copy of the Contracting Officer's written authorization with each payment request. (END OF CLAUSE)

Assessment of Capability mailto:amber.harris@nih.gov https://www.ipp.gov/ mailto:IPPCustomerSupport@fiscal.treasury.gov

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