Notice of Intent to Sole Source IDT

The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) intends to award a Firm Fixed Price sole source contract on behalf of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner Systems (AFMES) to Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) Inc., located at 1710 Commercial Park, Coralville, IA 52241, under the authority FAR 13.106-1(b)(1): For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT), only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name, or industrial mobilization).

This requirement is for the purchase of custom reagents (oligos, unique dual index (UDI) adapter plates, and amplicon panel with Illumina library preparation) manufactured by IDT. IDT is the sole manufacturer and reseller of the custom reagents that are specifically mandated for this mission requirement and have been previously validated in accordance with AFMES-DNAOps American National Standards Institute (ANSI) National Accreditation Board (ANAB)-IS0-17025 and Federal Bureau of Investigation Quality Assurance Standard protocols (FBI-QAS).

AFMES-DNAOps is a forensic DNA testing laboratory that is accredited by the ANAB to the FBI-QAS and to the ISO-17025 standards for forensic DNA testing laboratories. Based on accreditation adherence, all equipment, software, and reagents used for testing must be validated by the laboratory. The custom Trade Marked oligos manufactured by IDT have been tested, optimized, and validated by AFMES-DNAOps in accordance with the FBI-QAS and the ISO-17025 accreditation standards. Testing, optimization, and validation studies performed by AFMES-DNAOps showed that the custom Trade Marked oligos from IDT were reproducible, reliable, and free from DNA contamination. Furthermore, they were shown to be suitable for a range of DNA sample types, to include highly damaged and chemically treated human remains from the past accounting mission. No other companies can provide the Trade Marked oligos and no other alternative oligos have been validated.

This is a notice of intent to issue a contract on a Sole Source basis. This notice of intent is NOT a request for quotations (RFQ). Any other firms desiring consideration must fully identify their interest and capability to provide these services to the individual listed below. 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. Interested persons may identify their interest in writing, to the Government point of contact. Responses to this notice must be received no later than 9:00am Eastern Standard Time, 6 August 2024. The point of contact for this action is James Cheng, james.cheng1.civ@health.mil. No telephone requests will be honored.