SOURCES SOUGHT: NUcleic acid Linked Immuno-Sandwich Assay Instrument and Reagents

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.

This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement, to determine the method of acquisition, and availability of domestic sources manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory quality.  It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract.  Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes.  No award will be made as a result of this notice.  The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice.  This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. Small businesses are encouraged to respond.

For equipment/supply requirements, small business responses must include: (1) the place of manufacturing (i.e. address if supply/equipment is a domestic end product and include country of manufacture), as well as (2) the size status of the manufacturer under the applicable NAICS code (i.e. address Non-Manufacturer Rule).

Background:  The Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (CARD) works to understand the pathological basis of neurodegenerative diseases. This acquisition is necessary for biomarker discovery to support neurodegenerative disease research within the CARD.

Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of this acquisition is to provide a NUcleic acid Linked Immuno-Sandwich Assay instrument to analyze cellular proteomics which will detect and quantify biomarkers related to ADRD. Note that Alamar products are listed but those that are equal will be considered as well.

Project requirements:

Line Item Description                                                                         Delivery Date                QTY 

Alamar ARGO HT System                                                               30 days after award               1
ARGO Instrument White Glove                                                       30 days after award               1
On-Site Training NULISA (2 Day)                                                    30 days after award               1
ARGO Installation                                                                            30 days after award               1
One Year Warranty                                                                          30 days after award               1
Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120                                 30 days after award             93
Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120                                 30 days after award               7
Option Line 1 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120           60 days after award               6
Option Line 2 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120           90 days after award               6
Option Line 3 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120         120 days after the award         6
Option Line 4 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120         150 days after the award         6
Option Line 5 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120         180 days after the award         6
Option Line 6 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120         210 days after the award         6
Option Line 7 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120         240 days after the award         6
Option Line 8 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120         270 days after the award         6
Option Line 9 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120        300 days after the award         6
Option Line 10 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120      330 days after the award         6
Option Line 11 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120      360 days after the award         6
Option Line 12 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120      390 days after the award         6
Option Line 13 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120      410 days after the award         6
Option Line 14 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120      440 days after the award         6
Option Line 15 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120      470 days after the award         6
Option Line 16 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120      500 days after the award         6
Option Line 17 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120      530 days after the award         6
Option Line 18 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120      560 days after the award         6
Option Line 19 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120      590 days after the award         6
Option Line 20 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120      610 days after the award         6
Option Line 21 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120      640 days after the award         6
Option Line 22 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120      670 days after the award         6
Option Line 23 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120      700 days after the award         6
Option Line 24 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120      730 days after the award         6
Option Line 25 Alamar NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120      760 days after the award         6
Shipping                                                                                          30 days after the award         1

Salient Characteristics:

NUcleic acid Linked Immuno-Sandwich Assay INSTRUMENT must be able to provide the following features:

• Integrated on-board computing and data analysis, an intuitive user interface with less than 5 minutes of set up time.
• Cartridge based reagents capable of three consecutive runs or 288 samples.
• Liquid handling that will process and prepare samples for either qPCR readout or pool library ready for NGS in less than 6 hours.
• Equipped with cloud-based primary and secondary analysis software.
• Attomolar level of detection ( as low as 0.1 fg/ml)
• Quantification of low-abundance proteins
• Enabled by 4-levels of built-in assay specificity
• Enabled by proprietary signal-to-noise enhancement technology, signal-to-noise ratio is improved by >10,000-fold.
• Up to 12 logs dynamic range
• Quantification across the biological range of protein levels in one reaction w/o dilution
• Single target or multiplex, with 100s to 1000s of targets in a single reaction
• Fully automated workflow with <30 min total hands-on time
• High throughput capacity processes up to 288 samples per run
• Rapid results in <6 hrs for single-plex assays and <15 hrs for multiplex NGS assays
• Integrated software and data analysis transforms data into biological insights and publication-ready results

NUcleic acid Linked Immuno-Sandwich Assay REAGENTS must be able to provide the following features:

• Highly sensitive, multiplexed analysis of both neuro-specific proteins and the inflammatory response from plasma and CSF.
• Detection and quantification of pTau-217, GFAP, NfL, and alpha-synuclein biomarkers.
• Detection and quantification of 120+ proteins including inflammatory pathways
• Detection and quantification of 250-plex cytokine and chemokines including IL4, IL5, IL17, IL33
• Ability for multiplexing across several sample types including plasma, serum, CSF urine, and cell culture media.

Delivery Date: 30 days after receipt of order.

Other important considerations: In case domestic sources are available and capable of fulfilling the Government’s need, and a future solicitation is published, the Government will use evaluation preferences in accordance with FAR 25.

Capability statement /information sought.
Companies that believe they possess the capabilities to provide the required products submit documentation of their ability to meet each of the project requirements to the Contracting Officer. The capability statement must specifically address each of the project requirements separately.  Additionally, the capability statement should include 1) the total number of employees, 2) the professional qualifications of personnel as it relates to the requirements outlined, 3) any contractor GSA Schedule contracts and/or other government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs) by which all of the requirements may be met, if applicable, and 4) any other information considered relevant to this program. Capability statements must also include the Company Name, Unique Entity ID from SAM.gov, Physical Address, and Point of Contact Information. The response must include the respondents’ technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses.

Interested companies are required to identify their type of business, applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code, and size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone number of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, please reference the solicitation notice number.

One (1) copy of the response is required and must be in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format using 11-point or 12-point font, 8-1/2” x 11” paper size, with 1” top, bottom, left and right margins, and with single or double spacing.

The information submitted must be in and outline format that addresses each of the elements of the project requirement and in the capability statement /information sought paragraphs stated herein.  A cover page and an executive summary may be included but is not required.

The response is limited to ten (10) page limit.  The 10-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested.

All responses to this notice must be submitted electronically to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer.  Facsimile responses are NOT accepted.

The response must be submitted to Hashim Dasti, Contract Specialist, at e-mail address hashim.dasti@nih.gov.

The response must be received on or before June 5, 2024 at 11AM Eastern Time.

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 presolicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in www.sam.gov. 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).