Sources Sought Notice_75N95024Q00225.docx

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

1. Solicitation Number: 75N95024Q00225

2. Title: Small Molecule Target Deconvolution via Cellular Thermal Shift Assay (CETSA)

3. Classification Code Q301 - Laboratory Testing

4. NAICS Code: 541380 - Testing Laboratories

5. Size Standard: $19 million

This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement.

This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies, including the availability and capability of qualified small business sources technically capable of meeting the Government requirement, to determine the method of acquisition. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. Small businesses are encouraged to respond.

Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of this requirement is to acquisition is to obtain results from small molecule target deconvolution assays on a small molecule to determine the target of the small molecule.

Project requirements: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation’s leading medical research agency and the primary Federal agency whose mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability, conducting, supporting and making medical discoveries that improve people’s health and save lives.

Target deconvolution is a key aspect of small molecule therapeutics. Many small molecule therapeutics provide a desired phenotypic response for a given disease or disease model. However, the small molecule molecular targets often remain unknown. In order to better understand the disease and the small molecule therapeutics, it is critical to discover and understand the molecular target. Target deconvolution allows for the identification of this molecular target through a variety of methods, including CETSA.

Independently and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government as needed to perform the Statement of Work below:

1. The Contractor shall initiate the project, procure mouse brain tissue and the small molecule, and perform the CETSA experiment within 12 weeks of contract award.

2. Contractor shall prepare the sample and perform the MS protein quantification.

3. Contractor shall analyze the results.

4. Contractor shall provide a comprehensive report on the results of the assessment

a. Report shall include all data files associated with the experiment in a format that is generally readable via Mass-spec approaches and software.

b. Report shall include the names of all proteins screened.

c. Report shall include the identification of all protein targets affected by direct binding to 2R,6R-hydroxynorketamine (HNK);

d. Contractor shall be available for verbal communication regarding the results of the screen.

5. Contractor shall be providing regular reports via e‐mail or phone concerning the progress of the project, with an update no less than every two weeks on progress and available to provide ad-hoc reports within 1 working day of the Government’s request.

Anticipated period of performance: The contract shall be effective for a maximum of 12 months from the date of the award. The delivery of data is expected to be completed within six (6) months after date of award and vendor receipt of the small molecule compound to be commercially purchased by vendor.

Capability statement /information sought.

Companies that believe they possess the capabilities to provide the required products and services should submit documentation of their ability to meet each of the project requirements to the Contracting Officer. The capability statement must specifically address each of the project requirements separately. Additionally, the capability statement should include 1) the total number of employees 2) any contractor GSA Schedule contracts and/or other government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs) by which all of the requirements may be met, if applicable, and 4) any other information considered relevant to this program. Capability statements must also include the Company Name, Unique Entity ID from SAM.gov, Physical Address, and Point of Contact Information. The response must include the respondents’ technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone, and e-mail addresses.

Interested companies are required to identify their type of business, applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code, and size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone number of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, please reference the solicitation notice number.

The response is limited to ten (10) page limit. The 10-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested.

All responses to this notice must be submitted electronically at e-mail address polina.klimenkova@nih.gov.The response must be received on or before April 10st, 10 am EST, Eastern Time.

“Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work.

Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a solicitation may be published in www.sam.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).”