NOI Illumina 75N98026Q00979.pdf

NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE-SOURCE FIRM-FIXED-PRICE

PURCHASE ORDER

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) intends to award a Firm-Fixed-Price purchase order on a sole-source basis to Illumina, Inc. pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 6.302- 1, “Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.”

The NIH has determined that Illumina, Inc. is the only known responsible source capable of providing the required equipment and associated services that meet the Government’s technical and programmatic requirements.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) intends to acquire an Illumina NextSeq 2000 desktop sequencing system and an associated Illumina service contract. The NextSeq 2000 would enable the laboratory to progress from tumor sample acquisition to finalized genetic analysis within approximately 7–10 days, thereby facilitating the use of personalized approaches to cancer treatment and supporting the NIH mission.

In addition to the sequencing equipment, the Illumina service contract is required to ensure that the system is properly maintained, and that necessary repairs or replacements are provided in the event of minor or major equipment issues. The manufacturer’s warranty requires servicing to be performed by Illumina-authorized personnel. Servicing by personnel who are not authorized by Illumina may void any remaining warranty coverage.

Continued use of an Illumina sequencing platform is also necessary to ensure continuity of ongoing research and experiments. This requirement is based on the following considerations:

1. Data comparability and continuity. The laboratory must be able to analyze newly generated sequencing results in combination with existing sequencing data. Different sequencing technologies employ different molecular mechanisms and analytical methodologies, which can introduce platform-specific sequencing artifacts. Continued use of an Illumina platform is therefore necessary to maintain comparability with the laboratory’s extensive existing database of sequencing data from malignancies and to minimize the risk that platform-specific artifacts could compromise downstream analyses.

2. Compatibility of sequencing libraries and analytical pipelines. Libraries constructed for sequencing on the NextSeq platform can be used directly across Illumina sequencing systems. In addition, the proprietary analytical pipelines developed by the NCI for RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), exome sequencing (exome-seq), whole-genome sequencing (WGS), single-cell whole-transcriptome analysis (scWTA), and T-cell receptor sequencing (TCR-seq) are designed around Illumina reagents, kits, and sequencing data.

Transitioning to a different sequencing technology would require substantial modification and potentially complete redevelopment of these established analytical pipelines.

These requirements are critical to mission success. Accordingly, the NCI intends to purchase an Illumina NextSeq 2000 DNA sequencing system and associated service support from Illumina, Inc.

THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE QUOTATIONS.

Illumina, Inc. is currently considered the only known responsible source capable of meeting the Government’s requirements. However, interested small business concerns—including 8(a) participants, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs), HUBZone small businesses, Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDBs), Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs), and Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs)—that believe they possess the capability to satisfy these requirements may submit a written capability statement.

Any capability statement must clearly demonstrate the organization’s ability to provide the required equipment and services and to satisfy all of the Government’s stated technical, compatibility, maintenance, warranty, and programmatic requirements. The Government will evaluate any timely responses received and, at its sole discretion, determine whether the proposed sole-source award should be competed.

It is anticipated that an award will be issued approximately ten (10) days after the date of this notice, unless the Government determines, based on responses received, that another organization has the capability to meet the Government’s requirements.

Interested parties should submit written capability statements by email to danielt@mail.nih.gov no later than 9:00 a.m. EST on August 24, 2026.