Mouse Models for Down Syndrome

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development seeks to establish and operate a repository of mouse models for Down Syndrome research under a cost-reimbursement contract, with proposals due May 28, 2026, and questions due May 1. The procurement is unrestricted and uses no set-aside, though HUBZone small business concerns receive a 10 percent price evaluation preference.

Place of performance is the contractor's facility. The contract requires production, maintenance, and distribution of aneuploid mice with emphasis on models of human trisomy for chromosome 21, specifically a minimum of 30 breeding pairs of Ts65Dn mice, along with Dup(16)Yey, TcMAC21, and Ts66Yah strains. The contractor must manage breeding colonies, characterize clinical and neurobehavioral phenotypes, establish a Scientific Advisory Board meeting quarterly, implement cryopreservation procedures, and distribute approximately 1,200–2,400 mice annually to qualified federally-funded investigators at no charge except shipping costs. The base performance period runs September 25, 2026, through September 24, 2027, with four optional one-year extensions through September 24, 2031. Upon contract completion, the contractor must transition all mouse strains, data systems, and materials to a successor contractor.

The NAICS code is 541714, Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology); the small business size standard is 1,000 employees. Evaluation weights technical factors at 60 points for technical plan and approach, 15 points for personnel qualifications, 15 points for facilities and resources, and 10 points for project management, with technical merit as the paramount consideration, followed by past performance and cost reasonableness. The contracting officer is Gannon P. White. Offerors must register in SAM, provide certified cost or pricing data, and comply with NIH policies on data sharing, reproducibility and rigor, animal welfare, and financial conflicts of interest. Amendment 003 was issued May 15, 2026; review all three amendments for acknowledgment requirements.