Nimh psychoactive drug screening program (pdsp)

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) intends to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) No. NIH-NIMH-75N95023R00003 to re-compete a requirement currently being performed under NIMH Contract No. HHSN271201800023C with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill entitled, "NIMH Psychoactive Drug Screening Program (PDSP)". This procurement is being competed under full and open competitive procedures under NAICS Code 541715. It is anticipated that Part 15, Contracting by Negotiations will be used and a single Cost Reimbursement, Level of Effort type contract will be awarded for one 12-month base period and four 12-month option periods on or about 08/06/2023.

The purpose of the NIMH PDSP is to provide screening of novel synthetic compounds and natural products for potential use as research tools or probes for basic and clinical research, as therapeutic agents for mental disorders, and as PET, SPECT, and fMRI ligands for functional brain imaging.  This program is primarily intended as a screen for compounds that have previously been shown to possess pharmacological, biochemical, or behavioral activities relevant to NIMH and not for the purpose of large-scale, random screening of natural products or combinatorial libraries (e.g., libraries containing >1000 compounds).  However, screening may be conducted on small libraries of synthetic or natural product compounds of unknown activity and on hit or lead compounds generated through NIH-funded HTS or chemistry programs.  Compounds will be provided by the research community, primarily NIH-supported investigators.  It is anticipated that the Contractor will receive and screen compounds on a continuous and on-going basis, although the volume of requests will vary from month to month.

The objectives of the requirement are to receive and test approximately 2,500-3,000 samples (e.g., small molecules, gene products, and natural product extracts) per year in broad-based human and rodent CNS screening assays against hundreds of CNS targets (see https://pdsp.unc.edu/pdspweb/?site=clones for current list of available targets), and to provide an electronic data file for each of the screened compounds.   Samples for screening can include, but are not limited to, novel chemical entities, structural analogs of lead compounds, genes or gene products, and natural products.  It is anticipated that NIMH-approved and coded samples will be submitted in individual vials or in a plated format from NIH-funded research programs, academic research programs, or other sources.  It is expected that the screening information derived from this program will provide individual investigators with data addressing the specificity and/or activity of compounds at CNS targets. 

The annual assay workload is estimated as follows:

•           35,000 primary pharmacologic assays

•           10,000 secondary pharmacologic assays

•           125,000 functional assays

•           1,500 Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, and Toxicity (ADMET) assays

•           5-10 new assays developed and validated

As demand for contract services may vary, the Contractor must maintain the capability of expanding throughput to meet a higher assay volume.  The requirement will contain options for increased quantities that may be exercised multiple times within a performance period to fund a higher volume of screening.

In addition, an option for fee-for-service may be included to provide screening at no cost to approved investigators.  The contractor shall have the ability to conduct screening on a fee-for-service basis, if requested by the government.  Prices for the services provided shall be set based on full or partial recover of actual costs. 

REPORTS/DELIVERABLES: The Contractor is expected to provide 1) Assay Reports within one week of completion of testing; 2) Quarterly Reports within seven (7) calendar days after the end of each contract quarter; 3) Annual Reports within fourteen (14) calendar days after the expiration of each contract performance period; 4) Final Report on or before the contract expiration date; and 5) a Transition Plan - Transition to a subsequent Contractor or to the Government upon request at any time within the contract performance period. 

The RFP will be made available electronically, on or about 15 days from the date of this announcement (on or about December 7) via the SAM.GOV website https://www.sam.gov. Offerors are responsible for routinely checking the SAM.GOV website for any possible solicitation amendments that may be issued.

All responsible sources may submit a proposal which will be considered by the agency. This notice does not commit the Government to award a contract. No collect calls will be accepted. No facsimile transmissions will be accepted.

This pre-solicitation notice corresponds with Sources Sought Notice No. NIDA-SSN-75N95022R00083 previously posted on July 20, 2022.