RFP NIHAO2008008 Amendment 2.pdf

PAGE OF PAGES AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION / MODIFICATION

OF CONTRACT

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

1 3

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO 5. PROJECT NO.

(If applicable) 2 04/15/2008

6. ISSUED BY CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY CODE

National Institutes of Health, NIAID, AMOB

10401 Fernwood Road, MSC 4813 Bethesda, MD 20817

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

NIHAO2008008

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP code)

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

TO ALL PROSPECTIVE OFFERORS

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13) CODE FACILITY CODE

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers is extended is not extended.

Offerors must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods: (a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning 2 copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or

(c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each elegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified. t

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (

If required)

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify Authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation data, etc.) SET

FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return copy to the issuing office.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible)

1. The purpose of this amendment is to provide answers to questions submitted by prospective offerors. See page 2

2. Section D. Article D.2, SHIPPING is also amended

3. The response date for proposal submissions is extended. Proposals are to be submitted no later than 2:00pm Local

Time, April 22, 2008

4. Customer Survey Questionnaires should be returned to the Contract Specialist by the amended date and time specified for receipt of proposals

5. For questions, please contact LaDonna Stewart at lstewart@niaid.nih.gov

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and n full force and effect. i

16A NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print) 15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

Terrie Nestor, Contracting Officer

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of person authorized to sign)

RFP NIHAO2008008 Page 2 Amendment 2

1. The purpose of this amendment is to respond to questions from potential offerors below

Q1. Please clarify requirements related to the shipping and delivery of clinical specimens. If the requirement is delivery within 2-4 hours, is it acceptable to house animals outside the 50 mile radius called for in Section M, Paragraph 2 so long as specimen delivery is made within 2-4 hours and before 12:00 P.M.?

A1a. Clinical specimens should be delivered within 2 hours after having been drawn. Deliveries are requested to be made no later than 12pm on the day obtained unless specified. The Solicitation will be modified to reflect this correction.

A1b. The NIAID/VRC staff prepares reagents on the day animals are scheduled to be inoculated. Due to the need for NIAID personnel commute to and from the Contractor's facilities to transport reagents in a timely manner and/or to perform or oversee performance of various procedures, it is not practical in terms of time efficiency or cost for VRC personnel to travel distances greater than 50 miles outside of the NIH location.

Q2. What is the anticipated award date [for this contract]?

A2. The anticipated contract award date is on or before July 1, 2008.

Q3. How many non-human primates should the Offeror expect to procure each year? Will the contract award include funding for transportation/transfer of animals provided by the government to the successful Offeror?

A3a. Purchase of NHP’s is highly variable and is determined by the scientific needs of the VRC investigators. The Government may provide, or require that the contractor purchase from 6 to 50+ NHPs at any one time. Purchase or delivery of NHPs could be a single or multiple occurrences within a contract year.

A3b. The Government will be responsible for either providing animals to a successful offeror upon contract award or negotiating the transfer/transportation of animals.

Q4. What is the estimated annual number of New World primates vs. Old World primates anticipated?

A4. Programmatic needs for specific categories of NHPs are highly variable and unable to be determined at this time. Purchase or delivery of NHPs is estimated to range between 6 to 50 in any one instance - up to a maximum of 500 NHPs to be housed during contract performance.

Q5. What is the anticipated number of apheresis procedures to be performed annually?

A5. This number is highly variable and cannot be determined.

Q6. Would an ABSL-2 facility with ABSL-3 practices be adequate for the studies anticipated for this contract? If not, what is the anticipated annual number of non-human primates that would require strict

BSL-3?

A6a. The Government currently requires a BSL-2 facility with BSL-3 practices for Non Human Primate studies. However, the NIAID/VRC is developing studies that will require direct use of a BSL3 facility for future NHP studies.

A6b. The number of non-human primates requiring strict BSL-3 facilities cannot be determined at this time.

RFP NIHAO2008008 Page 3 Amendment 2

Q7. What is the anticipated number of immunodeficient animals that would require the 6.0 Mobile Home Over/Under Bio-containment Modules, annually?

A7. This number is highly variable and cannot be determined with any level of certainty. For proposal purposes, the contractor can estimate between 0-5 animals annually requiring the need for the specified bio-containment modules.

Q8. During the 12-hour dark cycle is it expected that lights be turned on every 2 hours to observe the animals? Please clarify.

A8. Animals should be observed no less than once every 2 hours during the day hours. Observations may be more frequent as determined by animal health status. During the 12-hour dark cycle, animals and their conditions should be observed in accordance with sound veterinary practice and with as minimal a disturbance as possible.

Q9. Please confirm that no caging will be provided by the government.

A9. No cages will be provided by the Government.

2. Section D. Article D.2 SHIPPING is also revised to correct the delivery time to coincide with information provided by the Statement of Work. The correction is noted in bold print below:

“When required for delivery to the NIH, clinical specimens, drawn fresh daily from an animal, shall be delivered intact, on wet ice, to NIH, Building 40, Laboratory Animal Medicine, Vaccine Research Center, within 2 hours after having been drawn, and no later than 12:00 P.M. on the day obtained in order to achieve optimal and maximum virus isolation and recovery rates. In most procedures, specimens shall be frozen at 70 C until delivery on dry ice.

Frozen specimens are to be shipped on dry ice in a styrofoam container. Fresh specimens are to be shipped on wet ice in styrofoam.”

3. For addition questions, please contact LaDonna Stewart at lstewart@niaid.nih.gov

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION / MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT