BioFire Respiratory 2. 1 (RP2. 1) Panel with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)

General Information

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)/SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT to conduct market  research relative to a requirement for BioFire® Respiratory 2.1 (RP2.1) Panel with SARS-CoV-2. This RFI announcement is NOT a Request for Proposal (RFP) and the Government is not committed to award a contract pursuant to this announcement. The information from this RFI is for planning purposes only and will assist the Government in planning its acquisition strategy and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, implied or otherwise, to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract.

General Intent

The Air Force is looking to award a single contract to facilitate this requirement. This market research is being conducted to assist in determining the best acquisition strategy for the subject BioFire® Respiratory 2.1 (RP2.1) Panel with SARS-CoV-2. Any information regarding contract type, commercial practices, and specifications are requested and being considered for the development of the solicitation.

This announcement is targeted for all qualified businesses that can provide the product as stated in the product description; responses from all interested parties are appreciated and accepted.

Description

This is a product description BioFire® Respiratory 2.1 (RP2.1) Panel with SARS-CoV-2. The BioFire® Respiratory 2.1 (RP2.1) Panel with SARS-CoV-2 should not only detect SARS-CoV-2, but also detect 21 additional respiratory pathogens to help clinicians quickly rule in and rule out other common causes of respiratory illness. Furthermore, the BioFire® Respiratory 2.1 (RP2.1) Panel with SARS-CoV-2 shall be compatible for use on both the BioFire 2.0, BioFire Torch, and/or any other BioFire analyzer.

Background

AFMS requires access to BioFire Respiratory 2.1 (RP2.1) Panel with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Virus due to worldwide pandemic. This requirement provides for RP2.1 Panels in support of 73 BioFire FilmArray and 7 Torch analyzers across 42 Military Treatment Facilities in place for Home Station Medical Response programs, negating the need for mass equipment purchases. The ability to test for COVID-19 Virus on the BioFire analyzers is delivered via the reagent RP2.1 Panel. Without access to the appropriate reagent RP2.1 Panels the Air Force faces mission degradation across every MAJCOM. BioFire RP2.1 Panels are the only reagents compatible with BioFire FilmArray and/or Torch Analyzers. The BioFire FilmArray and Torch systems are not open platform molecular instruments, so other tests/reagents will not work on BioFire instrumentation. The FilmArray and Torch systems utilize a very specific “pouch” which in a fully automated fashion purifies the sample, extracts the nucleic acids, conducts a reverse transcriptase step to convert target RNA into DNA, does multiplex PCR, nested singleplex PCR, and finally a melting curve analysis and automated results reporting. The pouches are proprietary to BioFire and are not produced by other companies. BioFire is therefore considered sole source for FilmArray and Torch tests.

The 773d Enterprise Sourcing Squadron (773 ESS) is seeking responses to the questions listed below. Please provide your responses on company letterhead to the Point of Contact (POC) identified at the end of this RFI.

1. Please provide your company's name, mailing address, Cage Code, Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) identification number, Point of Contact (POC), telephone number and e-mail address. Please also provide the name of the company's Parent Company, if applicable.

2. Please provide your business size status (i.e. 8(a) Business Development Small Business Certification, Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone), Woman- Owned Small Business (WOSB) or Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDCOSB), Small Business, Large Business, etc.) under NAICS 325413. *If you are under the 8(a) program, please identify when you graduate from the program.

3. Given the product description, if you feel another NAICS code better fits this requirement, please identify that.

4. Based on the product description, do you have enough information to provide an accurate proposal? If not, what additional information can the Government provide to assist you in creating a more accurate proposal?

5. Identify any factors that likely contribute risk or uncertainty to developing a proposal for this proposed requirement. Please rate any factors you identify as either high or low regarding the degree of risk to the contractor. For the high risk drivers, please explain why the risk is high and suggest how the Government might mitigate or reduce this risk.

6. Do any components of the product description conflict with standard industry practice? If so, please describe.

7. Would your company be interested in participating in this requirement?

Please provide any additional questions, comments, concerns, etc. you have concerning this proposed acquisition. Provide feedback on whether the objectives, requirements, and other information presented in the product description are clear and achievable, and provide suggested changes, as appropriate.