6515--BioFire Microbiology Analyzer This is not a request for quotes Notice of Intent to Sole Source

2

THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE

This Request for Information (RFI) is intended for information and planning purposes only at this time; and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Because this is a Request for Information announcement, no evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. This Sources Sought Notice of Intent to Sole Source is for market research purposes only and shall not be considered an Invitation for Bids, Request for Quotations, or a Request for Proposal. Do not submit a proposal or quote. This market research is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Additionally, there is no obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services described in this notice of intent to sole source. You will not be entitled to payment for direct or indirect costs that you incur in responding to this Sources Sought Notice. Any contract that might be awarded based on information received or derived from this market research will be the outcome of a competitive process. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary, restricted or competition sensitive information contained in their response. No solicitation exists. Therefore, do not request a copy of a solicitation.

Statement of Work

Statement of Work

General Scope: The Wilkes Barre VA located at 111 E End Blvd, Wilkes Barre, PA 18711 plans to lease the Biofire Filmarray Torch 4 System with RP2.1 and GI Panels This system which uses multiplex PCR technology to simultaneously test for a comprehensive grouping of targets in about an hour. The BioFire equipment is the only instrument known of performing all of the respiratory and gastrointestinal virus testing required by the Wilmington VA Medical Center in an hour or less.

Any alternative proposal for testing equipment instrumentation must include:

Perform DNA/RNA extraction, purification and highly multiplexed PCR.

Generate, detect and analyze PCR melting curves. The analysis should include a meta-analysis of all applicable controls and gene targets required for determination of a single result for each respiratory and GI organism included in the multiplex reaction.

Support fluorescence acquisition LED excitation.

Process reagent pouches to detect multiple nucleic acid targets contained in clinical specimens.

Ensure sensitivity and specificity of the system is comparable to that of common commercially available real-time PCR instruments.

Require as little as two minutes for set up and provide results in about one hour.

Be capable of simultaneous analysis of up to 20 respiratory targets, 27 blood culture targets, 22 gastrointestinal targets and 14 meningitis/encephalitis targets.

Include a Microsoft Windows®-based computer and analysis software or equivalent.

Have bar code reading capability.

Be fully automated following initial run set-up.

Be compatible with VISTA & CPRS computer systems so results can be interfaced per VA Handbook 1106.

The Respiratory RP2.1 panel should include:

Adenovirus

Coronavirus 229E

Coronavirus HKU1

Coronavirus OC43

Coronavirus NL63

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Human Metapneumovirus

Human Rhinovirus/ Enterovirus

Influenza A

Influenza A/H1

Influenza A/H3

Influenza A/H1-2009

Influenza B

Parainfluenza Virus 1

Parainfluenza Virus 2

Parainfluenza Virus 3

Parainfluenza Virus 4

Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Bordetella Parapertussis

Bordetella pertussis

Chlamydia pneumoniae

Mycoplasma pneumoniae

The GI Panel reagent panel should include:

Campylobacter (jejuni,coli, and upsaliensis)

Clostridium difficile (toxin A/B)

Plesiomonas shigelloides

Salmonella

Yersinia Enterocolitica

Vibrio (cholerae, parahaemolyticus, and vulnificus)

Vibrio cholerae

Diarrheagenic E. coli/shigella

Enteroaggregative E. Coli (EAEC)

Enteropathogenic E. Coli (EPEC)

Enterotoxigenic E. Coli (ETEC) lt/st

Shiga-like toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) stx1/stx2

E.coli 0157

Shigella/Enteroinvasive E.Coli (EIEC)

Cryptosporidium

Cyclospora cayetanensis

Entamoeba histolytica

Giardia lamblia

Adenovirus F40/41

Astrovirus

Norovirus GI/GII

Rotavirus A

Sapovirus (I,II,IV, and V)

Delivery Location

Laboratory, Microbiology Department, Room 2060

Wilmington VA Medical Center

1601 Kirkwood Highway

Wilmington, DE 19805

Instructions

The information identified above is intended to be descriptive, for the lease of brand name Biofire Filmarray Touch 4 are to indicate the quality of the supplies/services that will be satisfactory. It is the responsibility of the interested source to demonstrate to the government that the interested parties can provide the supplies/services that fulfill the required specifications mentioned above.

Responses to this RFI should include company name, address, point of contact, phone number, and point of contact e-mail, DUNS Number, Cage Code, size of business pursuant to North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 339113.

Please answer the following questions:

(1) Please indicate the size status and representations of your business, such as but not limited to: Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small

Business (VOSB), Hubzone, Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB), Large Business, etc.)?

(2) Is your company considered small under the NAICS code identified under this RFI?

(3) Are you the manufacturer, distributor, or an equivalent solution to the items being referenced above?

(4) If you are a large business, do you have any designated distributors? If so, please provide their company name, telephone, point of Contact and size status (if available).

(5) Describe how your small business takes ownership of the equipment in the manufacturing, assembly, or delivery process.

(6) If you re a small business and you are an authorized distributor/reseller for the items identified above or an equivalent solution, do you alter; assemble; modify; the items requested in any way? If you do, state how and what is altered; assembled; modified?

(7) If you intend to subcontract any work on this contract, what portion of the total cost will be self-performed/will be performed by your organization? Please provide estimated detailed percentage breakdowns related to subcontracted work and completion of job.

(8) Does your company have an FSS contract with GSA or the NAC or are you a contract holder with any other federal contract? If so, please provide the contract number.

(9) If you are an FSS GSA/NAC contract holder or other federal contract holder, are the items/solution you are providing information for available on your schedule/contract?

(10) General pricing of your products/solution is encouraged. Pricing will be used for the purpose of market research only. It will not be used to evaluate for any type of award.

(11) Please submit your capabilities regarding the brand name equipment.

(12) Please review salient characteristics/statement of work (if applicable) and provide feedback or suggestions. If none, please reply as N/A.

This Intent to Sole Source Notice RFI (Request for Information) will be conducted in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13. Responses must be received via e-mail to andrew.taylor3@va.gov no later than 4 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Thursday August 22, 2024. This notice will help the VA in determining available potential sources only. Reference 36C24423Q0899 in the subject of the email response.

Do not contact VA Medical Center staff regarding this requirement, as they are not authorized to discuss this matter related to this procurement action. All questions will be addressed by the Contracting Officer Andrew Taylor.

All firms responding to this Request for Information are advised that their response is not a request for proposal, therefore will not be considered for a contract award.

If a solicitation is issued, information will be posted on the Beta.Sam web site for all qualified interested parties at a later date and interested parties must respond to this Intent to Sole Source Notice to be considered for a set-aside. This notice does not commit the government to contract for any supplies or services. The government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this Request for Information. Information will only be accepted in writing by e-mail to Contracting Officer at andrew.taylor3@va.gov

DISCLAIMER

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.

End of Document