Notice_of_Intent_1.pdf

Notice of Intent to Sole Source

Solicitation Number: 75N94025Q00001 Solicitation Type: Sole Source (Non‐Competitive) Title: NIAAA: Service: Ion Proton Sequencing Systems Maintenance

Agreement NAICS / Size Standard: 811210 / 34 Million

Introduction

THIS IS A PRE‐SOLICITATION NON‐COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A PURCHASE ORDER WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Office of Acquisitions (OA), intends to negotiate and award a purchase order on a noncompetitive sole source basis to Life Technologies Corporation to provide a maintenance agreement for the Ion Proton Sequencing Systems.

Background Information

The mission of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) is to support and conduct research on the impact of alcohol use on human health and well‐being. NIAAA 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 using state of the art methodologies.

The laboratory of Neurogenetics conducts genetic analyses of DNA samples to determine the genetic contribution to various mental health conditions including alcohol use disorder. One method used to determine genetic contribution is sequencing of both DNA and RNA from various sources (human and animal blood and tissues can be sequenced with the Ion Proton Sequencing Systems).

Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of this contract is to obtain preventative maintenance and emergency repair service when needed for the lab’s Ion Sequencing systems.

Period of Performance

The period of performance is November 22, 2024 through November 21, 2025.

Contractor Requirements

The contractor needs to provide the following in their service maintenance agreement:

Full coverage for parts, labor and travel (AB Assurance 1 PM Coverage Plan) on Ion Chef Svc, Ion

S5 XL Sequencer, and Ion S5 Prime Sequencer.

Guaranteed priority response time of 2 business days after receipt of a service call.

Priority telephone and email access to instrument and application technical support.

Hardware and software updates to the sequencers/chef system will be provided during the yearly PM.

Remote Monitoring and Dx Service; provides for notification of instrument failures or errors that are reported by AB’s Remote Monitoring software.

Sole Source Justification

The sequencers and chef are used heavily in the laboratory and must be maintained in peak condition to keep the research going; these instruments are critical to the running of many experiments in the lab.

Life Technologies Corporation which was acquired by ThermoFisher has not issued a letter of assurance nor provided a manufacturer’s training certification to any third party for the servicing of its manufactured instruments. The ThermoFisher Field Service Engineers (FSEs) are trained through a multi‐ step factory certification program to work on their instrumentation and software supporting it. The certification is renewed every two years to ensure the appropriate standard of excellence is maintained.

The FSEs have full and exclusive access to the latest technical developments, repair processes, software application updates and planned maintenance procedures. They also have additional support within the company should they encounter something they have not seen before. The FSEs carry a wide range of service parts with them and only use replacement parts that have been certified to the original manufacturing specifications. Additionally, major subassemblies for the instrument can only be ordered and obtained through an FSE from ThermoFisher and are not available for separate purchase. Without access to replacement parts, Life Technologies Corporation, a subsidiary of ThermoFisher is the only company that is able to adequately support the lab’s sequencers.

Regulatory Authority

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Subpart 13.106‐1(b) Soliciting from a single source. (1) For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, or industrial mobilization).

FAR Clauses

The provision at FAR clause 52.212‐1, Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition.

The provision at FAR clause 52.212‐2, Evaluation – Commercial Items, is applicable. The Government will award a contract resulting from this notice to the offeror listed above. The following factors shall be used to evaluate the offer: The contractor shall demonstrate its ability to provide the detector listed that meets the specifications provided above.

FAR clause 52.212‐3, Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Products and Commercial Services, is applicable. The Offeror shall complete only paragraph (b) of this provision if the Offeror has completed the annual representations and certification electronically in the System for Award Management (SAM) accessed through https://www.sam.gov. If the Offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically, the Offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through

(v) of this provision.

FAR clause at 52.212‐4, Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Products and Commercial Services applies to this acquisition.

FAR clause at 52.212‐5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders – Commercial Products and Commercial Services applies to this acquisition.

Additional Information

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 811210 and the Small Business Size Standard is 34 Million. This acquisition is being conducted under FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures, therefore the requirements of FAR Part 6, Competitive Requirements, are not applicable and the resultant award will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular 2024‐07 effective September 30, 2024.

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: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, 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 must be received by October 22, 2024 5:00 PM ET and must reference solicitation number 75N94025Q00001. Responses shall be submitted electronically to nicole.freid@nih.gov. Responses will only be accepted if dated and signed by an authorized company representative. All responsible sources may submit a bid, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency.