Development and Maintenance of an Aged Rodent Tissue Bank

This is a Research and Development (R & D) Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential R & D requirement.

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 Institute on Aging (NIA) supports basic biomedical research through several programs that require animal models of aging. NIA also maintains through contracts large colonies of aged mice and rats for use in research on aging (Aged Rodent Colonies). While some investigators need live animals for their research, others simply need biospecimens (tissue or body fluids) for their experiments. The purpose of this contract to develop and maintain an Aged Rodent Tissue Bank (ARTB) to provide a source of biospecimens, mostly fresh frozen or fixed and embedded tissue, suitable for multiple experimental protocols, from the NIA colonies of aged mice and rats. This constitutes a mechanism for multiple investigators to share tissue from a single animal, allowing more studies to be carried out with existing resources, optimizing the value of the rodent colonies, increasing the efficiency and cost effectiveness of aged tissue collection. This requirement is a follow-on to contract 75N95021C00008. The ARTB currently consists of approximately 40,000 frozen biospecimens stored at -70 to -80°C, and 800 tissue and tissue array blocks stored at room temperature. Approximately 1,500 biospecimens are shipped each year to approximately 25 investigators.

Purpose and Objectives: The objective of the ARTB is to collect, store and distribute biospecimens (tissues and fluids) from mice and rats from the NIA Aged Rodent Colonies. Biospecimens are flash-frozen, or fixed and embedded in paraffin, to meet the requirements of a wide-range of molecular and histochemical protocols. In addition, tissue arrays designed in agreement with the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) will be assembled starting from paraffin blocks. Vital statistics information will be compiled to accompany the corresponding biospecimens.

Project requirements: The Contractor shall receive mice and rats selected by the COR (strain, age and sex) from the NIA Aged Rodent Colony and shipped at no cost to the Contractor. Upon receipt, live animals will be housed by the Contractor in an approved animal facility before biospecimen collection. The Contractor will assign a unique identification number to each received animal, record vital statistics, collect and process selected tissues and fluids for storage (flash freeze or fix for subsequent embedding or otherwise as directed by the COR), collect sections on slides, label all biospecimens, record them in an inventory and store them under appropriate conditions. The Contractor shall ship biospecimens to investigators at the direction of the COR. The number of animals sent to the Contractor for tissue collection shall be approximately 150 per year, in groups of 5-10 animals per week, according to a schedule established by the COR in consultation with the Contractor. Approximately ninety percent (80%) of the collections shall be “basic collections” and twenty percent (20%) shall comprise “extended” and “comprehensive” collections (see Task Area 2c). Occasionally, “custom” collections shall be performed at the direction of the COR and after establishing the Contractor’s technical capabilities.

Anticipated Period of Performance: The anticipated period of performance will consist of a base period and four(4) option periods as follows:

Base Period:      3/15/2026 -  3/14/2027

Option Period 1: 3/15/2027 -  3/14/2028

Option Period 2: 3/15/2028 -  3/14/2029

Option Period 3: 3/15/2029 -  3/14/2030

Option Period 4: 3/15/2030 -  3/14/2031

Other important considerations: In case domestic sources are available and capable of fulfilling the Government’s need, and a future solicitation is published, the Government will use evaluation preferences in accordance with FAR 25.

Capability statement /information sought.

Companies that believe they possess the capabilities to provide the required services should submit documentation of their ability to meet each of the project requirements to the Contracting Officer. The capability statement must specifically address each of the project requirements separately.  Additionally, the capability statement should include 1) the total number of employees, 2) the professional qualifications of personnel as it relates to the requirements outlined, 3) any contractor GSA Schedule contracts and/or other government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs) by which all of the requirements may be met, if applicable, and 4) any other information considered relevant to this program. Capability statements must also include the Company Name, Unique Entity ID from SAM.gov, Physical Address, and Point of Contact Information. The response must include the respondents’ technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses.

Interested companies are required to identify their type of business, applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code, and size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone number of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, please reference the solicitation notice number.

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 information submitted must be in and outline format that addresses each of the elements of the project requirement and in the capability statement /information sought paragraphs stated herein.  A cover page and an executive summary may be included but is not required.

The response is limited to ten (10) page limit.  The 10-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested.

All responses to this notice must be submitted electronically to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer.  Facsimile responses are NOT accepted.

The response must include the RFP number in the subject line and be submitted to e-mail address nidacoaccommunications@nida.nih.gov, and Eric McKay, Contracting Officer, at eric.mckay@nih.gov.

The response must be received on or before August 7, 2025, 4:00 pm, Eastern Time.

“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 presolicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in www.sam.gov. 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).