Annual full service maintenance contract for two (2) Multi-Scan LFER PET/CT IN-VIVO Animal Imager instruments

PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE **NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE

NOI-NIAID-25-2259591

NAICS – 811210

This is a Notice of Intent, not a request for proposal.  The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) intends to negotiate on an other than full and open competition basis with Mediso USA LLC to procure an annual full service maintenance contract for two (2) Multi-Scan LFER PET/CT IN-VIVO Animal Imager instruments located in Bethesda, MD.

Required by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Division of Intramural Research (DIR), Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases (LCID), Tuberculosis Research Section (TRS).  In our clinical studies, we are using 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) and high-resolution computed tomography (HR-CT) imaging to monitor response to chemotherapy in TB patients. The results have re-emphasized that TB in humans is a complex disease, usually presenting with a spectrum of lesions, both structurally and functionally, even within a single patient. The difficulty in the human studies is that we cannot make a direct physical correlation with the images we see by PET/CT and the changes in microbiologic and histopathologic outcome of the individual lesions and overall disease. By adding HR-CT and FDG-PET monitoring to our animal experiments, we can make correlations with the results we are observing in TB patients and provide context for the interpretation of the human results using tractable animal models. In addition, we will test new potential PET probes designed to target features of the bacteria or the disease in animals to determine their usefulness before pursuing the probes use in humans. This project requires regular access to PET/CT imaging equipment with sufficient resolution and speed to image 0.1 mm anatomic structures in animals as big as macaques and adult NZW rabbits located in a NIAID animal BSL-3 facility. The warranty will expire in June 2025, and we must put a new service contract in place for the machine directly with Mediso USA LLC. No other vendor or 3rd party can be accepted as the machine is still new and unique and cannot be serviced by a 3rd party to avoid nulling the remaining warranty features.

The statutory authority for this sole source requirement is 41 U.S.C. 1901 (a) (1) as implemented by FAR 13.106-1 only one responsible source and no other supply of service will satisfy agency requirements. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. All responsible sources that could provide comparable services may submit a capability statement. All required documents must be submitted via the NIAID electronic Simplified Acquisition Submission System (eSASS) website at https://esass.nih.gov by May 13, 2025 at 5:00 pm ET. All vendors must register in the eSASS system to submit their documentation. Instructions on how to register /submit documents are included on the website. All responses received by the closing date of this synopsis will be considered by the Government. A determination not to compete this requirement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government.