Sony SH800 Cell Sorter Maintenance/Service Agreement

NOTICE OF INTENT to Sole Source

1. SOLICITATION NUMBER:  75N95024Q00222
2. TITLE:  Sony SH800 Cell Sorter Maintenance/Service Agreement
3. CLASSIFICATION CODE:

J066- Maintenance/Repair/Rebuild of Equipment- Instruments and Laboratory Equipment

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

1. RESPONSE DATE:

April 23, 2024, at 4:00 PM ET

1. PRIMARY POINT OF CONTACT:

Maggie Brant

Maggie.brant@nih.gov

Phone: 301.827.1771

1. 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 Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with Sony Biotechnology Inc. to provide a Sony SH800 Cell Sorter maintenance/service Agreement.  The circumstances that limit the availability of this is that Sony Biotechnology is the only vendor who can provide OEM parts and service for the maintenance and repair of the Sony SH800S cell sorter. Only this suggested source can furnish the requirements, to the exclusion of other sources, because only Sony Biotechnology can provide technicians that are trained in servicing and maintaining the Sony SH800S cell sorter. Sony is the only vendor that is equipped with proprietary spare parts and can provide factory trained technicians to maintain and repair the instrument in a timely fashion.  The only way to assure rapid service and repair is to use the OEM for this service contract.

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 Dollars or Number of Employees: $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) 2024-03 dated February 23, 2024.

DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES:

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 National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) is a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which mission it is to catalyze the generation of innovative methods and technologies that will enhance the development, testing and implementation of diagnostics and therapeutics across a wide range of human diseases and conditions.

The Sony SH800 Cell Sorter allows users to take a population of cells and sort them out into different groups based on fluorescence signal present in each group. Once the instrument sorts the users' desired populations, the instrument can plate those cells into a variety of different plate types (6 well up to 384 well plate) that can then be used for further experimentation. This is the only instrument at NCATS that can plate sorted cell populations, therefore it is a critical piece of equipment used by multiple groups across the NCATS' Division of Preclinical Innovation (DPI). This instrument is highly complex utilizing various high powered lasers and microfluidics and therefore needs yearly preventative maintenance (PM). In addition to the yearly PM, a service agreement would allow for any needed parts or repairs to be covered and more quickly obtained.

NCATS requires the following:

Independently and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government as needed to perform the Statement of Work below:

• Service/Maintenance Agreement for the following systems with the below coverage:
  • Sony SH800 Cell Sorter System (SN# 0314054)
• One (1x) Preventative Maintenance performed annually on covered instrument/system
• Inspection stickers will be affixed to each unit at the time of inspection
• An equipment status report will accompany the certificates, providing an overview of the inspection findings
• All parts, labor, and travel covered
• Annual preventative maintenance (PM) visit
• Priority response times (remote and on-site)
• Fixed costs with no added charges
• Life cycle management
• Scientific phone support
• Only field service engineers with proven experience servicing the instruments listed in this SOW shall provide service.

ESTIMATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:

Base Period: May 6, 2024 – May 5, 2025

Option Period 1: May 6, 2025 – May 5, 2026

Option Period 2: May 6, 2026 – May 5, 2027

Option Period 3: May 6, 2027 – May 5, 2028

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

The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted. Specifically, Sony Biotechnology Inc. is the only vendor in the marketplace that can provide the products required by the NCATS. The circumstances that limit the availability of this is that Sony Biotechnology is the only vendor who can provide OEM parts and service for the maintenance and repair of the Sony SH800S cell sorter. Only this suggested source can furnish the requirements, to the exclusion of other sources, because only Sony Biotechnology can provide technicians that are trained in servicing and maintaining the Sony SH800S cell sorter. Sony is the only vendor that is equipped with proprietary spare parts and can provide factory trained technicians to maintain and repair the instrument in a timely fashion.  The only way to assure rapid service and repair is to use the OEM for this service contract.

The intended source is:

Sony Biotechnology Inc.

1730 N 1st St.

San Jose, CA  95112-4642

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, 75N95024Q00222. Responses must be submitted electronically to Maggie Brant, Contract Specialist, at maggie.brant@nih.gov.  U.S. Mail and fax responses will not be accepted.