SAM - Pre-Solicitation 6579923 NICHD-23-079.pdf

NICHD-23-079

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.

The National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD), in support of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) intends to award a firm-fixed price purchase order to include two (2) option years without providing for full and open competition to THERMO ELECTRON NORTH AMERICA LLC for maintenance services on our Thermo Scientific TSQ 8000 Evo Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer Equipment.

BACKGROUND

The goal of the Section on Molecular Dysmorpholgy’s (SMD) is to understand the underlying molecular and histopathological mechanisms at play in a series of inborn errors of metabolism diseases. SMD’s research focuses primarily on disorders of cholesterol homeostasis. As such it is critical to be able to accurately quantitate levels of neutral lipids. This instrument is further used to support collaborative research efforts within the institute. Several of the diseases studied in the Section on Molecular Dysmorphology involve the accumulation of cholesterol precursors. These sterols have similar structure and molecular weight as cholesterol and therefore cannot be distinguished by kits such as cholesterol oxidase assay or Amplex red. The industry standard for these measurements is gas chromatogram mass spectrometry which the laboratory uses. We have published numerous manuscripts based on this crucial instrumentation without which the laboratory would no longer be able to function. As such it is critical in the event of an equipment failure the service be restored as quickly as possible.

JUSTIFICATION

A service contract is needed as it is essential for parts, labor, and travel for repair(s), which will maintain the TSQ 8000 EVO triple quadruple Mass Spectrophotometer in working order. The equipment is expensive and highly sophisticated. We need the service technicians servicing the equipment will be qualified and have access to genuine parts. We need an annual preventive maintenance to be performed as part of this contact to ensure the important instrument remains in peak running performance. Thermo Electron is the sole provider of genuine spare parts for this instrument and to our knowledge, only their factory trained service personnel can perform the required maintenance and repair of the instrument at the level of performance needed. A contract with a third-party repair/maintenance service will void Thermo Electron’s warranty and service contract, and significantly increase the risk of disruptions in SMD/NICHD/NIH mission in the case of serious instrument failure, which would negatively impact our program goals.

NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE

The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 811210 with a Size standards in millions of dollars: $30.0.

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

NICHD-23-079

REGULATORY AUTHORITY

The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2023-01 effective 12/30/2022. This acquisition is conducted under the procedures as prescribed in FAR Part 13 - Simplified Acquisition Procedures at an amount not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold ($250,000), FAR Part 12 - Acquisition of Commercial Items, and FAR Subpart 17.2 - Options.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of FAR 13.106(b)(1) Soliciting from a single source - For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold.

PLACE OF DELIVERY

NIH/NICHD

9000 Rockville Pike BLDG 10 CRC / Room 1E-3330 Bethesda, MD 20892

DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT

This request is for a service contact and annual preventive maintenance on the laboratory’s TSQ 8000 Evo Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer Equipment.

CLOSING STATEMENT

This synopsis is not a request for competitive proposals. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability in response to this notice and may submit a capability statement, which shall be considered by the agency. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement that includes management, technical data and cost information in sufficient detail and with convincing evidence that clearly demonstrates the capability to perform the required work. 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 respondents must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov. All responses to this notice shall be submitted electronically by 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, on 3/14/2023 to jacob.balenson@nih.gov and shall include pre-solicitation # NICHD-23-079 in the subject line.

http://www.sam.gov/ mailto:jacob.balenson@nih.gov