Pre-contract inspection & service package for meso sector S 600 (ambis 2208066)

This is a Notice of Intent, not a request for proposal.  The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) intends to negotiate on an other than full and open competition basis with Meso Scale Discovery (MSD), a division of Meso Scale Diagnostics. LLC, 1601 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20850-3126, to procure a pre-contract inspection and Gold service package for the Meso Sector S 600 plate reader instrument. 

Only one award will be made as a result of this solicitation.  This will be awarded as a firm-fixed price type of contract.

Period of Performance(s) are as follows:

• One (1) year after completion of pre-inspection recertification

Service shall be performed at the following locations: NIH/NIAID/VRC/VIP, 40 Convent Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892.

The Vaccine Immunology Program (VIP) aids the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) by supporting the development of monoclonal antibodies and vaccines for infectious diseases such as HIV, Influenza, Ebola, and more recently SARS-CoV-2 Corona-virus.  Support is through the state-of-the-art laboratory performing Phase 1 and Phase 3 clinical end point testing to inform further study designs, research questions and vaccine modification and design. As part of a broader strategy to accelerate the development of monoclonal antibodies as therapy for targeting SARS CoV-2 spike and its newly emerging variants, VIP has identified the electro-chemiluminescent (ECL) assay format as the most reliable and sensitive assay system that offers high dynamic range in the detection of antibodies isolated specific to SARS-CoV-2 spike (S2P). Specifically, the VIP is in the process of developing an assay for detection of binding antibodies to subdomains of the spike such as RBD, NTD, S1 and S2, which offers high throughput measurement of immune responses elicited by infections. b.

Acquisition purpose and objectives. 

Very importantly, the purpose of the procurement is for the vendor to provide a service contract to repair and perform a pre-inspection and preventative maintenance for a government owned MSD Sector S 600 Plate reader S/N 120119071734.  This machine is constantly in use throughout the day and if it were out of action due to lack of maintenance or mechanical failure – the ability of the investigators in the VIP to conduct their research would be severely handicapped.  It is for this reason that a renewal service maintenance agreement is essential.  MSD are the sole owners of the intellectual property of the ECL assay designed in collaboration with VIP specifically for VIP endpoint testing.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has a requirement for service agreements for seven (7) instruments, including:

• Pre-Contract Inspection - MESO SECTOR S 600MM
• 1 Year Total Service Package Gold for MSD Sector S 600 Plate reader S/N 120119071734

The statutory authority for this sole source requirement is 41 U.S.C. 253 (c) (1) as implemented by FAR 13.106-1 only one responsible source and no other supply of service will satisfy agency requirements. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR COMPETITIVE QUOTATIONS.  All responsible sources that could provide the required services may submit a capability statement that will be considered by email (subject line to reference NOI-NIAID-24-2208066 to Rita Davis at rita.davis@nih.gov, by 11:00am eastern standard time Monday, January 29, 2024.  All responses received by the closing date of this synopsis will be considered by the Government.  A determination not to compete this requirement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government.