Supplement to Development and Maintenance of an Aged Non-Human Primate Tissue Bank

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute on Aging (NIA), intends to negotiate, under authority of FAR 6.302-1, on a noncompetitive, sole source basis, with the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System under Contract No. HHS-N-263-2008-00026C, Supplement to Development and Maintenance of an Aged Non-Human Primate Tissue Bank.

This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. However, responsible sources may express their
interest by submitting a capability statement or proposal. All capability statement/proposals received within fifteen
days after date of publication of this synopsis will be considered by the government. A determination by the
Government not to compete this proposed contract action based upon responses to this notice is solely within the
discretion of the government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of
determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. This effort will be to provide supplemental funding totaling $123,497 for five years (1-Base plus 4-Option periods (12 months per period)).

The supplemental funding is in accordance with the authority 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1), as set forth in FAR 6.302-1(a)(2), Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

The purpose of the Aged Non-Human Primate Tissue Bank is to provide a mechanism to archive and distribute excess tissue from non-human primates (NHP) that are being euthanized for research purposes. This provides a new research resource to many investigators and contribute to a reduction in the number of NHP needed by the research community since multiple investigators will be able to take advantage of each animal. The tissue allows investigators to test hypotheses in a model closely related to humans by providing access to NHP tissue without the expense of obtaining and housing the animals. This is an extremely important aspect of this project, as availability of NHP in general, and rhesus macaques in particular, has become very limited. The tissues are collected under strictly controlled protocols to ensure the integrity of the tissue. Tissue is flash-frozen without fixation or fixed and embedded, to fit the needs of a wide-range of molecular and histo-chemical techniques.

The supplementary funds are to allow the Contractor to fulfill the goals of the current contract, collecting, storing, and distributing NHP tissues for research projects. The Contractor shall fulfill specific goals through obtaining banking supplies, performing freezer and sample transfers, and any requirements associated with embedding tissue, preparation of brain tissue, and collection kit shipments. Therefore, the supplement will fulfill existing needs within scope of the current contract.

The incumbent contractor is thus uniquely qualified, alone possessing all the elements critical for performing the requirements detailed in the Statement of Work. No other Contractors could provide a comparable service in a timely and cost-efficient manner. It is essential for optimal performance of this contract that there are no disruptions in work performance and that smooth continuation of services be provided by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.

In summary, duplication of cost to the Government and unacceptable delays to provide supplemental funding for this contract make competition unfeasible for this requirement.