Alinity mp Pre-Analytical System

Subject: Sources Sought, Alinity mp Pre-Analytical System for VA NORTHERN CALIFORNA HEALTH CARE SYSTEM (VANCHCS), MATHER, Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

The purpose of this sources sought is to conduct market research to support the procurement , Alinity mp Pre-Analytical System for VANCHCS. This notice serves to survey the market in an attempt to ascertain whether or not sources are capable of providing the requested services. This notice allows potential contractors/vendors to submit a non-binding statement of interest and documentation demonstrating their capability. The sources sought effort is intended to assess industry capabilities and develop/support the intended direction of acquisition planning. The Network Contracting Office (NCO 21) is requesting responses from qualified business concerns; the qualifying NAICS code for this effort is 334516 - ANALYTICAL LABORATORY INSTRUMENT MANUFACTURING.

This sources sought is to gain knowledge of potential qualified sources and their size classifications (Service Disabled/Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB/VOSB), Hub zone, 8(a), small, small disadvantaged, woman owned small business, or large business) relative to NAICS 334516. Responses to this notice, will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions.  After review of the responses to this notice, a solicitation announcement may be published. Responses to this notice are not considered adequate responses to any corresponding solicitation announcement.  All interested offerors will have to respond to the solicitation announcement in addition to responding to this notice.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Submit a brief description, two-three (2-3) pages (including cover letter) that demonstrates how your company can provide the requested supplies and/or services.  Provide authorized distributor memo from the manufacturer on the manufacturer letterhead dated within sixty (60) days for submission.  Include past experience in providing this system to the VA, other Government (Federal or State) agency, or for a private facility.  Please specify your availability and your address. The above salient characteristics are a draft, and are NOT finalized.  If any portions seem unclear, prohibited, and/or you are unsure about the draft description of the requirement please list your comments and/or concerns in your response so they can be addressed.  PLEASE INDICATE WHETHER YOU HOLD A GSA FEDERAL-SUPPLY SCHEDULE CONTRACT THAT COVERS THESE SUPPLIES AND/OR SERVICES AND; IF SO, THE CONTRACT NUMBER.  Provide BUSINESS SIZE AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS; (a) Indicate whether your business is large or small (b) If small, indicate if your firm qualifies as a small, emerging business, or small disadvantages business (c) If disadvantages, specify under which disadvantaged group and if your firm is certified under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (d) Indicate if your firm is a certified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) or Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB) (e) Include the DUNS number of your firm. (f) State whether your firm is registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) at http://www.sam.gov and/or the VetBiz Registry at http://vip.vetbiz.gov.  If not, please NOTE that any future solicitation could only be awarded to a contractor who is registered in SAM and to receive award based on VOSB or SDVOSB status you must be registered in the VetBiz Registry (g) link to the respondent’s General Services Administration (GSA) schedule, or attached file of same, if applicable (h) citation of any current or past customers (i.e., within the past two (2) years) to include contract number, point of contact telephone number or e-mail address; and (i) other material relevant to establishing core competencies of the firm.

Response is due by 01:00 PM, Thursday, March 20, 2025.  Please submit e-mail responses Jason Olliff, Contract Specialist, at email address: jason.olliff@va.gov.   Your response should include a STATEMENT OF CAPABLILITY, GSA SCHEDULE INFORMATION, PROOF OF AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTOR/DEALER, DUNS#, BUSINESS SIZE, AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS information as explained above.  Please place “Attention: RFI 36C26125Q0366 - MATHER Alinity mp Pre-Analytical System in the subject line of your email.  This notice is to assist the VA in determining sources only.

Issuance of this notice does not constitute any obligation whatsoever on the part of the Government to procure this equipment and/or services, or to issue a solicitation, nor to notify respondents of the results of this notice. No solicitation documents exists at this time; however, in the event the acquisition strategy demonstrates that GSA is a viable option for procuring a solution, the RFQ shall be posted to GSA eBuy where only those firms who currently hold a GSA Schedule with the applicable SIN will be able to respond. The Department of Veterans Affairs is neither seeking quotes nor accepting unsolicited quotes, and responses to this notice cannot be accepted as offers. Any information the vendor considers proprietary should be clearly marked as such. The U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI.

STATEMENT OF WORK FOR THE VA Northern Healthcare System Mather

Alinity mp (Preanalytical Sample)

Background   

Alinity mp (Preanalytical Sample) will be used in Mather (clinical laboratory) BLDG 650 room 1D516a.

Objectives/Scope

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the US and can lead to cervical, vulvovaginal, anal, penile, and oropharyngeal cancers. The Alinity mp System provides sample aliquoting for samples contained in liquid-based cytology (LBC) vials used for molecular testing of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and/or human papillomavirus (HPV), according to assay-specific product documentation. The Alinity mp System provides for automation of the aliquoting of these specimens from the incoming vials to secondary (output) tubes compatible with the Alinity m System.  Reduce Technologist handling in this step prevents error is handling samples for testing and mislabeling of aliquots.  This also saves Technologist time; this is critical with the current staffing shortages to allow us to do the HPV testing in house versus sent out to a reference laboratory.  Doing the testing in house also reducing turnaround time compared to the current reference laboratory turnaround time and has extended genetic genotyping that the current sends out test does not have available.  From the 2022 study done by the VA published in the Journal of Medical Economics, Clinical and economic burden of HPV-related cancers in the US veteran population, they found that compared with the general population, US military are at higher risk of HPV-related conditions. Within the VHA, HPV-related cancer cases had approximately 4–15-times more inpatient hospitalizations of significantly longer duration, as well as 2–11-times higher total health care costs. Only 14% of female veterans of average risk undergo cervical cancer screening within the VHA system.

Selection Criteria

Compatible with our Alinity m molecular analyzer.  Preanalytical handling saves technologist time and there is less chance of preanalytical errors.  It must fit into the space and due to space restrictions, it must be no bigger than 50 inches long, 30 inches deep and 36 inches high and must be a bench top not a floor standing system.

Technical Data

• Sample identification verification
• Prints labels directly on output tubes
• Decapping and re-capping of input and output tubes
• Automated vortexing
• Automated aliquoting
• Output tubes placed directly in Alinity m Universal Sample Rack
• 264 samples in 8 hours
• No daily maintenance
• 4-hour walkaway time
• 144 sample load up capacity
• Deliverables or Delivery Schedule

The equipment shall be delivered to the following addresses:

VA Northern California Healthcare Systems-Mather

10535 Hospital Way

            Mather, CA 94304

            Attn: Martha Goodwin, Laboratory Manage, martha.goodwin@va.gov

Place of Performance

The place of performance will be:

VA Northern California Healthcare Systems-Mather

Building 650, Clinical Laboratory, Microbiology/Molecular

10535 Hospital Way

            Mather, CA 94304

Period of Performance

Everything must be delivered within 60 calendar days after the award date.

Installation

An Abbott representative performs the installation and the relocation of the Alinity mp System. During installation, the representative unpacks, positions, and installs the system. During the installation, the representative performs the system setup and confirms that the system operates per installation and servicing instructions. After the installation, the customization or configuration of the system may be performed before any system processing is initiated. The system is supported by resourceful advocates consisting of dedicated professionals who excel in engineering, medical technology, training, and service. As part of a dedicated customer-training program, Abbott will teach how to operate, maintain, and troubleshoot the system. 

Reference: Kunal Saxena, Rachel Souza Dawson, Anissa Cyhaniuk, Temitope Bello & Nora Janjan (2022) Clinical and economic burden of HPV-related cancers in the US