Sources Sought Notice Attachment.pdf

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

Solicitation Number: 75N95020Q00055 Title: NCATS study of 100 human iPSCs in different types of derivatives Classification Code: PSC B504 NAICS Code: 541380 – Testing Laboratories

Description This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice.

This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and 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.

Background The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation’s leading medical research 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.

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) is a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with the mission to catalyze the generation of innovative methods and technologies that will enhance the development, testing and implementation of diagnostics and therapeutics across a wide range of human diseases and conditions. The Stem Cell Translation Laboratory (SCTL) is a state-of-the-art research facility within NCATS’ Division of Pre-Clinical Innovation dedicated to addressing the challenges in the iPSC field. The SCTL uses an integrated technological approach to better understand pluripotent stem cell biology and thereby leverage drug discovery and regenerative medicine.

The SCTL aims to develop novel cell culture conditions that reduce genomic instability and increase the safety of iPSC technologies. The whole genome sequencing services will be an integral part of the suite of analysis methods that will be carried out to construct a high-resolution “map” of the genomic and epigenomic landscape that controls human pluripotency. The integration of all these analyses will allow us to generate foundational cell culture methods that will be shared with the scientific community.

Purpose and Objectives The Stem Cell Translation Laboratory (SCTL) requires whole genome sequencing services to be performed by the vendor using 27 SCTL human iPSC samples. The data generated from this services will be utilized by SCTL scientists to study the effects of cell culture conditions on genomic instability.

Project Requirements 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. NCATS will transfer samples to the vendor to perform analysis.

SCTL requires the vendor to perform Whole Genome Sequencing services on the NCATS study of 27 human samples. This genome-wide sequencing (WGS) service is designed to study mutation frequency, genetic variants or variants associated with disease and/or treatment conditions.

Specifically, we require that these samples are sequenced at ~100X coverage (~270Gb of data). The 27 cell pellet samples will be sent to the vendor in one shipment within 2 weeks of approval and the Vendor will complete the whole genome sequencing within 2 months of receiving samples.

Period of Performance/ Contract Type The Government will send the contractor the material to synthesize after the effective date of contract award. The contractor is expected to deliver results within two (2) months of receiving material from the Government to analyze. The period of performance will be 6 months. The anticipated award date is March 30, 2020.

A Fixed-Price type of Purchase Order award not exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold is anticipated for any contract resulting from this requirement.

CAPABILITY STATEMENTS/INFORMATION SOUGHT

Interested parties are expected to review this notice to familiarize itself with the requirements of this project. Failure to do so will be at your firm's own risk.

Respondents must provide clear and convincing evidence of possessing the knowedge, skills, abilities and experience to successfully perform the requirements described in this announcement. Detailed prior experience in implementing similar requirements to the requirement described in this announcement must be clearly delineated in any response provided. Technical experience can include, but is not limited to: Experience (> 5 years) in the testing of small molecule compounds for kinase inhibitory activity using the Kinase HotSpot assay platform; Access to all critical instrumentation necessary for this statement of work; Testing the aforementioned compounds in all the assays described above in <3 months’ time. Respondents must provide clear and convincing documentation of their capability in providing analytical quality control and any other requirements and services specified in this notice. Respondents must provide a general overview of the respondents' opinions about the difficulty and /or feasibility of the potential requirement, and any information regarding innovative ideas or concepts.

The Respondent must also provide information in sufficient detail of the respondents' (a) staff expertise, including their availability, experience, and formal and other training; (b) current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work; (c) prior completed projects of similar nature; (d) corporate experience and management capability; and (e) examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, or other related information.

The respondent must also provide their DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HubZone, etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code and any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the acquisition requirements.

One (1) copy of the response is required and must be in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format using 11-point or 12-point font, 8-1/2” x 11” paper size, with 1” top, bottom, left and right margins, and with single or double spacing. The response is limited to ten (10) pages. The 10-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, CV’s or references, if requested.

The information submitted must be must be in and outline format that addresses each of the elements of the product requirement. A cover page and an executive summary may be included but is not required. The response must include the respondents’ technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. All responses to this notice must be submitted electronically to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer.

Facsimile responses are NOT accepted.

Respondents must reference the announcement number on all correspondence related to this Small Business Sources Sought notice. The response must be submitted to Anna Chiang electronically, at anna.chiang, and be received prior to the closing date specified in this announcement.

CONCLUDING STATEMENTS

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 pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. 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).

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