Service Contract for Leica Imaging Platforms for the Laboratory of Immune System Biology (LISB)

Introduction

This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement.  

Project Summary

The Laboratory of Immune System Biology (LISB) in the Division of Intramural Research (DIR) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) conducts research in fundamental and applied aspects of immunology. The major research activities of LISB are focused on the basic genetics, molecular biology, and cell biology of the immune system, as well as on human diseases informed by these more basic studies. A key aspect of LISB’s research is the development and application of systems and quantitative approaches to dissect how the molecules, cells, and commensals studied by LISB investigators together shape emergent immune system behavior. To do so, LISB along with the Center for Advanced Tissue Imaging (CAT-I) focus on high-tech imaging analysis and advanced microscopy techniques. LISB has multiple high-end platforms already in use for imaging various samples and therefore, a service contract is needed for various equipment to augment those capabilities by providing support upstream of imaging and servicing.  Since they are so widely used, a service contract is needed for LISB’s microscopy equipment to ensure the optimal condition of and successful continuous operation of instruments without failure. Without a service contract that includes a preventive maintenance visit and prompt service to remedy downtime, there would be detrimental impacts to the research work of LISB’s investigators.

Specifically, DIR LISB is seeking a maintenance agreement for various Leica equipment listed below.

• SP8 AOBS IR 81-263 (Equipment No. 11367646, Serial No. 8100000263)
• SP8 WLL2 TAN 811-2284 (Equipment No. 12458257, Serial No. 8110002284)
• SP8WLL2 SMD 81-1644 (Equipment No. 12114243, Serial No. 8100001644)
• SP8WLL2 SMD 81-1645 (Equipment No. 12114242, Serial No. 8100001645)
• THUNDER 516756 (Equipment No. 12800275, Serial No. 516756)
• THUNDER 501004 (Equipment No. 12660478, Serial No. 501004)
• STELLARIS 8- 83-272 (Equipment No. 12914688, Serial No. 8300000272)
• STELLARIS 405 PQ (Equipment No. 12914688, Serial No. 8300000272)
• WLL STELLARIS 8 PP (Equipment No. 12914688, Serial No. 8300000272)
• STELLARIS 83-271 (Equipment No. 12916377, Serial No. 8300000271)
• STELLARIS 488 (Equipment No. 12916377, Serial No. 8300000271)
• STELLARIS 561 (Equipment No. 12916377, Serial No. 8300000271)
• STELLARIS 638 (Equipment No. 12916377, Serial No. 8300000271)
• WLL STELLARIS 83-271 (Equipment No. 12916377, Serial No. 8300000271)

The service agreement of the various Leica equipment must meet the following minimum requirements:

1. Unlimited service visits by manufacturer-trained and qualified field service engineers.
2. Unlimited original equipment manufacturer (OEM)’s replacement parts, components, or modules necessary for repairs, excluding multiphoton lasers, third party items, and consumables.  Coverage of OEM parts, labor, and travel. Coverage includes all fees associated with repairs (labor and replacement parts) for any service or repairs performed.
3. One (1) onsite Preventive Maintenance inspection to be performed during each period of the base plus 4 option periods contract to ensure the instruments are performing to factory specifications.
4. Priority scheduling and onsite response for all repairs during the period of performance. Priority is defined as giving priority scheduling equal to a direct contract and guaranteeing the equivalent manufacturer’s priority onsite response. If you are a third-party service provider, the priority scheduling and/or response time, must be listed in your response. OEM Trained Certified Technicians required.
5. 24-hour guaranteed priority response time after receipt of a service call.
6. Proprietary instrument control software and hardware updates (can occur during scheduled firmware updates upon request, and in conjunction with a scheduled Preventive Maintenance or Corrective Maintenance visit), including software revision. Provide End User License Agreement (EULA) if applicable.
7. Unlimited service visits and telephone support during normal business days and hours, excluding Federal holidays, as well as access to expert applications and technology support center (M-F, 8 AM – 5 PM PT)
8. Field service representative trained to provide service in biosafety level 2 (BSL-2).

Anticipated Period of Performance

The anticipated period of performance of the base plus four (4) option periods contract is as follows:  

Base Period: May 1, 2025 – March 31, 2026

Option Period 1: April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027

Option Period 2: April 1, 2027 – March 31, 2028

Option Period 3: April 1, 2028 – March 31, 2029

Option Period 4:  April 1, 2029 – March 31, 2030

Capability Statement/Information Sought

If your organization has the potential capacity to provide a maintenance agreement which meets the minimum requirements listed above, please provide the following information:

1. Organization name, address, point of contact, email address, website address, telephone number, UEI number.
2. Type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, Other than Small, etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code.
3. Under which NAICS code does your organization usually provide the requirements described in the draft SOW. Please provide rationale for your answer if different from NAICS 811210.
4. Identification of any Best-in-Class contract vehicles including Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC) (e.g., GSA schedule, NITAAC) they may possess or are aware of that would support this possible requirement. If your organization does not provide the products/services under a GWAC, please identify availability as OPEN MARKET ONLY.
5. Tailored capability statement addressing the organization’s capability to provide maintenance services that meet NIAID’s minimum requirements. Capability document shall be no more than six pages. The priority scheduling and/or response time must be provided with your response.
6. Any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the acquisition requirements.

Submission Instructions

Interested businesses who consider themselves qualified to provide the above listed maintenance agreement for this project are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notice by March 28, 2025 at 3:00 PM EST. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice shall be emailed to Kathy Song at kathy.song@nih.gov.

Disclaimer and Important Notes

This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities.  However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality

No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).