Request for Information Illumina.pdf

Request for Information (RFI)

Requiring Activity Name: Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences

(AFRIMS)

Subject: The purpose of this requirement is to provide specific commercial laboratories and medical supplies essential to support high-throughput sequencing workflows used for microbial surveillance, viral detection, influenza typing, and gene expression profiling. The specific products listed in this requirement have validated compatibility with Illumina sequencing platforms for AFRIMS.

This Request for Information (RFI)/Sources Sought (SS) Notice is for market research information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of AFRIMS or the Defense Health Agency Contracting

Activity (DHACA).

This market research is seeking sources only that have knowledge and capabilities to provide supplies and consumables listed in the Minimum Essential Characteristics list below. This is a Brand Name requirement, however, if an offeror has an “equal to” the list, it will be assessed in fair manner to determine best path forward.

The NAICS code for this requirement 334516 -Analytical Laboratory Instrument

Manufacturing. Only capability statements and/or fact sheet will be accepted.

RFI AVAILABILITY: In accordance with FAR Part 10 Market Research, this RFI is to ensure responsible and constructive exchanges with industry while complying with existing law and regulation that does not provide an unfair competitive advantage to particular firms or violate the procurement integrity requirements.

This RFI is being made available through the following platforms to maximize market research to target Prime Contractors to perform military specific research:

• SAM.Gov

• General Services Administration (GSA)

DISCLAIMER: This RFI is NOT a Request for Proposals (RFP) or a Request for

Quotations (RFQ); This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Neither unsolicited proposals nor any other kind of offers will be considered in response to this

RFI. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. No Contract will be awarded from this announcement. No reimbursement will be made of any costs to provide information in response to this announcement or any follow up information requests. Responders are solely responsible for all expense associated with responding to this RFI. Availability of any formal solicitation will be announced under a separate announcement.

All information received in response to this RFI will be treated as business confidential information. Submitters should properly mark their responses if the information is confidential. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly.

At this time, questions concerning the composition and requirements for a future solicitation will not be entertained.

RFI Response and due date: 5 January 2026 SEPT 2025 10am Eastern Standard

Time (EST)

Point of Contact: Jack Fitzsimmons - john.l.fitzsimmons8.civ@health.mil

Minimum Essential Characteristics (MECs)

The following minimum essential characteristics are required for the reagents, kits, and consumables listed in this requirement:

1. Full compatibility with Illumina sequencing platforms (e.g., MiSeq, NextSeq

1000/2000)

– All reagents and kits shall be validated by the original manufacturer (Illumina) for use with specific sequencing instruments currently in operation in the laboratory.

2. Validated protocols and automation compatibility

– Kits shall follow Illumina-standard workflows that are already integrated into the laboratory's approved standard operating procedures (SOPs), with no modification or protocol deviation required.

3. Unique dual indexing (UDI) systems with built-in contamination control

– Index kits shall include Illumina’s proprietary UDI format to reduce barcode hopping and cross-contamination, ensuring data integrity.

mailto:john.l.fitzsimmons8.civ@health.mil

4. Tagmentation-based library prep systems

– Library preparation kits shall support tagmentation-based sample fragmentation and adapter ligation, which are proprietary to Illumina's enzymatic system, enabling efficient preparation from low-input RNA/DNA samples.

5. Validated reagent shelf life and traceability

– Reagents shall be shipped with full lot-level traceability, expiration dating, and manufacturer validation data to meet quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) standards required by the laboratory and funding agency. Expiration information shall be disclosed prior to delivery and ensure batch consistency when possible.

6. Local technical support and warranty coverage

– The supplier shall be authorized by Illumina to provide local support, warranty assurance, and batch-specific replacement in case of reagent failure.

7. Temperature-sensitive shipping and storage compliance

– All reagents and kits shall be shipped and stored under strict temperature-controlled conditions (e.g., 2–8°C, -20°C, or -80°C as specified) to preserve enzymatic activity and product integrity:

• Room Ambient Temperature: For items that are stable at room temperature.

• Temperature-Controlled at +2°C to +8°C: For cold-chain products requiring refrigerated conditions.

• Frozen at -20°C (using dry ice as coolant): For temperature-sensitive reagents that must be maintained in a frozen state during transit.

• Note: Certain reagents must be transferred to -70°C storage immediately upon receipt.

- Standard delivery shall be completed within three weeks after receipt of a confirmed order

- The vendor shall ensure validated cold chain logistics, including the use of temperature-controlled packaging, data loggers (if required), and timely delivery to avoid temperature excursions.

– Products shall include clear storage instructions and batch-specific expiration dates to ensure compliance with laboratory QA/QC and regulatory standards.

These characteristics are essential for maintaining consistency in ongoing research, surveillance protocols, and regulatory compliance. Substitutions or equivalent products not validated by Illumina would compromise data quality, violate laboratory protocols, and disrupt mission-critical workflows. The contractor shall provide timely updates on order status, shipping details, estimated delivery dates, and notification of any backorders or substitutions upon request from the procurement agent or Contracting

Officer Representative (COR).

No Item Description

Unit

(ea, kit)

Maximum

Quantity For

5 Year

Ordering

Period

1 [A63881] Agencourt AMPure XP---60.0mL BT 10

2 [A63987] Agencourt RNAClean XP---40.0mL BT 5

[ILM20040529] Illumina Stranded Total RNA Prep, Ligation with Ribo-Zero Plus (96 Samples) Kit 3

[ILM20040537] Illumina RNA Prep with Enrichment,

(L) Tagmentation (96 Samples) Kit 1

Illumina RNA UD Indexes Set A, Ligation (96 Indexes, 96 Samples) Kit 1

Illumina RNA UD Indexes Set B, Ligation (96 Indexes, 96 Samples) Kit 1

Illumina DNA/RNA UD Indexes Set C, Tagmentation

(96 Indexes, 96 Samples) Kit 22

Illumina DNA/RNA UD Indexes Set D, Tagmentation

(96 Indexes, 96 Samples) Kit 21

NextSeq 1000/2000 P2 XLEAP-SBS Reagent Kit (300

Cycles) Kit 25

[ILM20060059] Illumina DNA Prep, (M) Tagmentation

(96 Samples, IPB) Kit 65

[ILM20091654] Illumina-DNA/RNA UD Indexes Set A, Tagmentation (96 Indexes, 96 samples) Kit 20

[ILM20091656] Illumina-DNA/RNA UD Indexes Set B, Tagmentation (96 Indexes, 96 samples) Kit 25

[ILM20106305] illumina(R) Microbial Amplion Prep-

Influenza A/B (48 samples) Kit 1

[ILM20108081] illumina Viral Surveillance Panel v2 kit, Set A (96 samples) Kit 10

[ILM20108082] illumina Viral Surveillance Panel v2 kit, Set B (96 samples) Kit 10

No Item Description

Unit

(ea, kit)

Maximum

Quantity For

5 Year

Ordering

Period

[ILM20108083] illumina Viral Surveillance Panel v2 kit, Set C (96 samples) Kit 10

[ILM20108084] illumina Viral Surveillance Panel v2 kit, Set D (96 samples) Kit 10

18 MiSeq i100 Series 5M Reagent Kit (600 cycles) Kit 125

19 [ILMFC-110-3001] PhiX Control Kit v3 Kit 5

20 [ILMMS-102-2002] Miseq Reagent Kit v2 (300 cycle) Kit 1

21 [ILMMS-102-2003] MiSeq Reagent Kit v2 (500 cycle) Kit 23

22 [ILMMS-102-3003] MiSeq Reagent Kit v3 (600 cycle) Kit 21

[ILMMS-102-9999-10] MiSeq Disposable Wash

Tubes, 10x20/pkg Kit 2

Nextera XT Index Kit v2 Set A (96 indexes, 384 samples) Kit 5

Nextera XT Index Kit v2 Set B (96 indexes, 384 samples) Kit 5

Nextera XT Index Kit v2 Set C (96 indexes, 384 samples) Kit 5

Nextera XT Index Kit v2 Set D (96 indexes, 384 samples) Kit 5

28 Nextera XT DNA Library Preparation Kit (96 samples) Kit 5