Maintenance Support Services for a Custom LSR II Flow Cytometer

NOTICE OF INTENT to Sole Source
1. SOLICITATION NUMBER:
HHS-NIH-NIDA-NOI-18-16
2. TITLE: Maintenance Support Services for a Custom LSR II Flow Cytometer.

3. CLASSIFICATION CODE:
J - Maintenance, repair, & rebuilding of equipment
4. NAICS CODE:
811219 - OTHER ELECTRONIC AND PRECISION EQUIPMENT REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE
5. RESPONSE DATE:
November 27, 2017 at 11:00 am EST
6. PRIMARY POINT OF CONTACT:
Mrs. Sneha Singh
sneha.singh@nih.gov
Phone: 301-480-2443
7. DESCRIPTION:
INTRODUCTION
THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A CONTRACT WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME).

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) intends to solicit by a request for quotation from Beckton, Dickenson and Company DBA US BD Biosciences on or around November 30, 2017. The purpose of this purchase order will be to provide the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) with Maintenance Support Services for a Custom LSR II Flow Cytometer.

NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE and SET ASIDE STATUS
The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 811219 with a Size Standard of $20.5 Million.

This acquisition is NOT set aside for small businesses.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY
This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13-Simplified Acquisition Procedures. Contracts awarded using FAR Part 13-Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6-Competition Requirements. FAR Subpart 13.106-1 (b) Soliciting from a single source provides that: For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, Contracting officers may solicit from one source IF the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name OR industrial mobilization).

The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-85 dated February 26, 2016.

DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES:
The purpose of this acquisition is to purchase maintenance services to support a Custom BD LSR II flow cytometer used by the NINDS Laboratory of Viral Immunology and Intravital Imaging (VIIIS). To ensure standardization of research data and continuation of equipment warranties, maintenance may only be performed by the original equipment manufacturer, BD Biosciences.
The Viral Immunology and Intravital Imaging Section (VIIIS) of NINDS studies inflammatory diseases processes in the brain induced by injury or infection. As part of this research, the laboratory needs to monitor and quantify expression of various inflammatory biomolecules on cells extracted from various tissues, including brain, spleen, lymph nodes, blood, liver, etc. This type of analysis provides a signature of the inflammatory disease process underway and aids in the evaluation of therapeutic interventions.
The Custom BD LSR II is a critical piece of equipment in the VIIIS that is essential to the NINDS mission. The VIIIS requires a service contract for the BD LSR II Flow Cytometer to ensure that the instrument is properly maintained and quickly repaired should a service issue arise. Having a BD LSR II service contract in place helps sustain an uninterrupted research flow within the VIIIS.

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS:
Contractor must be an Authorized Service Provider of the FACSAriaII flow cytometer (Serial Number H47100213) equipment that provides an OEM Service Technician and Certified Parts for maintenance support services as follows:
Contractor shall perform two (2) preventive maintenance inspections during each twelve-month period. Each inspection will evaluate instrument performance and provide calibrations, alignments, lubrication and part replacement as necessary to maintain the instrument operation substantially in accordance with the published technical specifications for the instrument. Inspections must comply with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) equipment manuals.
Contractor shall provide unlimited technical support (telephone) and service repairs at no additional cost to the Government. If technical support is unsuccessful, contactor shall provide a service technician on-site within 48 hours. All repairs under warranty must comply with OEM equipment manuals.
Contractor shall provide preventative maintenance, service repairs and technical support between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Bethesda, MD local prevailing time, Monday through Friday. Emergency service repairs and technical support must be provided as needed, based on MD local prevailing time, Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays.
Contractor shall provide OEM certified parts for all preventative maintenance and service repairs, except for consumables, at no additional cost to the Government. Shipping and handling parts under warranty or contract shall not be charged to the Government.
Contractor shall provide an OEM service technician to perform all preventive maintenance inspections, service repairs and technical support.

CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION
The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted. Specifically, US BD Biosciences is the only vendor in the marketplace that can provide the products required by NINDS.

In accordance with FAR part 10, extensive market research was conducted to reach this determination. Specifically, a sources sought notice was posted to FedBizOpps referencing the above detailed requirements and no responses were received. Additionally, contacts with knowledgeable individuals both in industry and Government, as well as reviews of available product literature, revealed no other sources. Finally, a review of the GSA Advantage, Dynamic Small Business Search, and previous government acquisitions returned no results that meet all of the requirements. Therefore, only US BD Biosciences is capable of meeting the needs of this requirement.

The intended source is:
US BD Biosciences
2350 Qume Dr.
San Jose, CA 95131

CLOSING STATEMENT
THIS SYNOPSIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice.

A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement.

Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.

All responses must be received by the closing date and time of this announcement and must reference the solicitation number, HHS-NIH-NIDA-NOI-18-16. Responses must be submitted electronically to Sneha Singh, Contract Specialist, at sneha.singh@nih.gov. U.S. Mail and Fax responses will not be accepted.