NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A CONTRACT WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION: Preventative Maintenance and Service Agreement for the Leica Mica WideFocal Microscope System

NOTICE OF INTENT to Sole Source

SOLICITATION NUMBER:

75N95024Q00419

TITLE:  Preventative Maintenance and Service Agreement for the Leica Mica WideFocal Microscope System

CLASSIFICATION CODE:

J066 – Maintenance, Repair, and Rebuilding of Equipment – Instruments and Laboratory Equipment

NAICS CODE: 811210 – Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance  

RESPONSE DATE:

July 25, 2024 4:00 pm EST

PRIMARY POINT OF CONTACT:

Michael Horn  

Michael.horn@nih.gov

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), Office of Acquisition (OA), on behalf of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) intends to negotiate and award a purchase order for a Maintenance Support Services for a Leica Mica WideFocal Microscope System used by its researchers and scientists in NIMH.

NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE and SET ASIDE STATUS

The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 811210 – Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance with a Size Standard of $34 Million.  

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) 2024-05 dated April 22 2024

DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES:

The National Institute of Mental Health’s Section on Cellular and Cognitive Neuroscience (SCCN) requires an annual preventative maintenance and service agreement for our Leica Mica WideFocal Microscope System which provides state of the art imaging capabilities that are relevant to the research projects of our IRP investigators. This system was purchased in 2023 and is heavily utilized in our SCCN and requires both routine preventative maintenance and occasional repair or replacement of components. This system has been under a maintenance and service agreement with Leica since the expiration of the original warranty. The system provides support to researchers in the NIH IRP studying a wide variety of neurological conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, Stroke, Schizophrenia, Autism, and other development neurological disorders.

Specifically, the NIMH requires the following:

• Calibration to maintain original manufacturer’s safety and performance specifications
• Annual preventative maintenance visit
• Onsite service by a factory trained Field Service Engineer qualified to work on this equipment
• Provision of all necessary software updates for the system
• Supply of proper and certified parts and tools to address any hardware deficiencies
• Online, phone, or in-person support for emergent issues

Service shall be performed at:

49 Convent Drive,

Bldg. 49, Room 3B32,

Bethesda MD 20852

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:

The anticipated period of performance shall include one 12-month base period and four additional options:

Base Year- August 18, 2024 – August 17, 2025

Option Year One- August 18, 2025 – August 17, 2026

Option Year Two- August 18, 2026 – August 17, 2027

Option Year Three- August 18, 2027 – August 17, 2028

Option Year Four- August 18, 2028 – August 17, 2029

CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation’s leading medical research agency and the primary Federal agency whose mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability, conducting, supporting and making medical discoveries that improve people’s health and save lives.

The purpose of the requirement is to provide preventative maintenance and service for the Leica Mica WideFocal Microscope System located in the National Institute of Mental Health, Division of Intramural Research Programs, Office of the Director, Section on Cellular and Cognitive Neuroscience.

The essential characteristics of the annual preventative maintenance and service agreement for the Leica Mica WideFocal Microscope System that limit the availability to a sole source are the ability of this contractor to provide on-site service, use of replacement parts from the original manufacturer, prioritized on-site response time for remedial services, and provide any necessary software updates for the WideFocal microscope system in question. Furthermore, the software support provided can only be obtained from experts in Leica software.

Only this suggested source can furnish the requirements, to the exclusion of other sources, because only this source is able to satisfy all procurement requirements.

Company Name – Leica Microsystems

Company Address – 10 Parkway North,

Suite 300

Deerfield IL 60015

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 Unique Entity ID (UEI), 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 75N95024Q00419.

Responses must be submitted electronically to Michael Horn, Contracting Officer, at

michael.horn@nih.gov.

U.S. Mail and fax responses will not be accepted.