Supplies and Maintenance for Tecniplast Individually Ventilated Caging (IVC) Systems

Title: Supplies and Maintenance for Tecniplast Individually Ventilated Caging (IVC) Systems

THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) intends to award a sole source, firm-fixed price contract to Tecniplast USA for the continued use and maintenance of existing IVC systems.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY

This notice is being published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 5.201 and 5.204 requiring notice of a proposed contract action. The statutory authority for this sole source action is 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1: Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Award is subject to approval of the Justification and Approval for Sole Source (J&A).

DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT

NIEHS currently houses approximately 40,000 rodents in 17,500 cages, utilizing the Tecniplast IVC systems for all standard housing.  NIEHS animal care staff change approximately 533,000 Tecniplast cage units (cage, feed hopper, lid) and 910,000 Tecniplast water bottles each year. In the process of assembly and disassembly of these cage units and water bottles and their associated component parts, the NIEHS cage processing operation handles approximately 6,840,000 component parts each year. 

To support the continued use and maintenance of the existing IVC systems, it is necessary to ensure access to the specific replacement parts, consumable items, and equipment utilized by these systems. As the need to expand the animal population arises, it is also necessary to ensure that additional IVC caging and components acquired are compatible with the existing IVC system. Replacement parts, consumable items, and equipment utilized within the Tecniplast IVC systems are not interchangeable or compatible with component parts utilized in other rodent housing systems. Introducing divergent IVC systems for standard housing would create a significant operational and financial hardship, necessitating separate, parallel cage changing and cage processing operations and logistical equipment to support the use of multiple IVC systems. Therefore, a sole source award to Tecnicplast, who is the sole manufacturer and distributor of the current IVC system used at NIEHS, is necessary to ensure the continued care and housing of the Institute's rodent population.

Tecniplast is the incumbent for these services under Contract Number 75N96021D00004, which will expire on March 21, 2026.

The period of performance for the proposed sole source action is anticipated to be five years with an estimated start date of March 22, 2026.

RESPONSES

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. However, firms that believe they can fully meet the Government's requirement may submit a written capabilities statement (NOT TO EXCEED 3 PAGES). The capabilities statement must contain sufficient documentation to establish a bona fide capability to fulfill the requirement and must be received by the response date listed in this posting. A determination not to compete this requirement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. NIEHS will not be responsible for any costs incurred by interested parties in responding to this notice.

Please email all questions and correspondence regarding this notice to Trevor Worthy at: trevor.worthy@nih.gov. ONLY EMAIL RESPONSES WILL BE ACCEPTED.