NextSeq 2000 Support Plan

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the 
format in FAR 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This 
announcement constitutes the only solicitation and a separate written solicitation will not be 
issued. This solicitation number is 75N94024Q00140 and is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ). 
The solicitation/contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through 
Federal Acquisition Circular 2024-05. The North American Industry Classification (NAICS) Code is 
811210 and the business size standard is $34m. However, this solicitation is not set aside for 
small business. This acquisition is being conducted using Simplified Acquisition Procedures in 
accordance with FAR Part 13. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human 
Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) intends to contract on a sole source 
basis with Illumina Inc., 5200 Illumina Way, San Diego, CA 92122 to procure a Fixed Priced One-Year 
Silver Support Plan (coverage period 9/3/2024 – 9/2/2025) for the following Illumina sequencer:
NextSeq 2000 Sequencer - Qty (1) EA

Silver Support plan to include full coverage for repair parts, labor and travel; Reagent 
replacement upon Hardware failures, 1 annual PM; Remote Technical Support 18x5; Service 
technician/personal shall acknowledge repair request w/in 24 business hours, 2 business days on- 
site response target. Control hardware/software updates: On-site applications support; discounted 
advanced application training, remote monitoring available. On-site Field Application Scientist 
Support - Standard on-site support coverage hours/days (M-F, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, excluding national 
holidays), phone support 5 x 18 M-F, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, pst and 5x24 email access to Technical 
Support. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) certified replacement parts- Loaner Equipment: 
Illumina loaner instruments are only provided to customers under an active Illumina Service 
Contract. Illumina does not provide any third-party providers access to loaner or replacement 
equipment. Hardware/Software updates - Any upgrades to hardware or software that are released by 
Illumina will not incur an additional charge for instruments if covered under an active Illumina 
Service Coverage, will not cover under third party vendors.

All detection technology that relies on lasers and capillary flow to generate data requires regular 
maintenance to keep the lasers aligned, the flow tubes clear, and the system calibrated for maximum 
accuracy. This is true for FACs machines, genomic sequencers, gas chromatography machines, cell 
counters, and cell sorters, to name a few. Although the underlying concept is the same, each 
machine is unique in the technological application of it, and therefore none of these tasks can be 
completed by individuals who have not been certified by the equipment manufacturer to maintain 
those specific machines. To keep these machines in working order and maintain the accuracy of data 
required for professional scientific scrutiny, a maintenance/support plan agreement with a 
certified vendor is required. Continuous operation of this Illumina sequencer is needed to provide 
high-throughput and high accuracy results to the NICHD investigators. Thus, to keep these machines 
in working order and maintain the accuracy of data required for professional scientific scrutiny, a 
maintenance/support plan agreement with the
OEM (Illumina) certified vendor is required.

Illumina is the sole authorized provider of service for the NextSeq2000. Only Illumina, Inc. has 
technical service representatives who receive comprehensive and on-going factory training and 
regular technical updates. Illumina does not offer this training to anyone outside of their 
personnel resources. Illumina has not authorized any third-party intermediary to provide Illumina 
products or services for this particular transaction and is thereby the only supplier of Illumina 
services for this transaction with the National Institutes of Health NICHD. Also, they have direct 
access to original equipment manufacturer’s parts and specialized parts to help maintain the 
NextSeq2000 in optimal condition. Thus, timely service is crucial in the functioning of the 
NextSeq2000.  The NextSeq2000 is mission critical for the scientific experiments undertaken in the 
NICHD laboratories. Acquisition of a service contract offering from other entities/third parties’ 
providers can lead to substantive problems getting timely service engineer dispatched and can lead 
to down times on devices. NIH is a research organization where critical experiments require many 
weeks of tissue culture preparations and in animal breeding programs, etc. thus such delays will 
impose a very large financial burden on research laboratories which are hurting for research funds 
in the first place. Waste of experimental reagents, animals and human resources are the biggest 
problem in addition to reduction in research productivities.
The proposed contract action is for supplies or services for which the Government intends to 
solicit and negotiate with only one source under authority of the 41 U.S.C. 253(c) (1), FAR
6.302. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations. The offeror must include 
a completed copy of the provision of FAR Clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and 
Certifications – Commercial Items with its offer. The provisions of FAR Clause 52.212-1 
Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items; FAR Clause 52.212-2, Evaluation – Commercial Items; 
FAR Clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items; and FAR 52.212-5, Contract 
Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders – Commercial Items – 
Deviation for Simplified Acquisitions applies to this acquisition. Note: The contractor/offeror 
must provide a completed copy of FAR 52.204-24, "Representation Regarding Certain 
Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment" with their quote in response to 
this solicitation. The offeror must include their Unique Entity Identifier number (UEI) the 
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. The clauses are 
available in full text at http://www.acquisition.gov/far/. Responses to this notice shall contain 
sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling 
the requirements. Offers from other than the OEM must include a signed agreement with Illumina 
authorizing that you (vendor) can provide all the needed services listed for the NextSeq2000, use 
original manufacture parts, use Illumina/OEM certified trained technicians, and maintain existing 
warranties, etc. Responses to this notice without this confirmation from the OEM manufacturer will 
be considered as invalid. Interested vendors capable of furnishing the government with the services 
and products specified in this synopsis should submit a copy of their quotation/offer via email to
robinsti@mail.nih.gov. Attn: Tina Robinson. The solicitation# 75N94024Q00140 must be in the subject 
line of email with quotation/offer submission. Offers must also be accompanied by descriptive 
literature, warranties and other information that demonstrates that the offer meets all the 
foregoing requirements and inclusions stated above. Quotations/offers due on July 5, 2024, by 
3:00pm EDT via email. The quotation must reference “Solicitation number”

75N94024Q00140 . Any questions must be sent via email to robinsti@mail.nih.gov and must include 
solicitation# 75N94024Q00140 in the subject line of email.
Note: In order to receive an award, contractor must be registered and have a valid certification
for all awards in the SAM database @www.sam.gov.