Equine Urine and Blood Analysis

The State of Nebraska Department of Administrative Services (DAS), Materiel Division, State Purchasing Bureau has issued Request for Proposal (RFP) 120782 O5 seeking a qualified laboratory to provide comprehensive equine urine and blood analysis services for the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission. The procurement requires laboratory testing for multiple sample categories, including post-race paired blood and urine samples, single matrix blood-only post-race samples, and Veterinarian's List blood samples. Vendors must perform screening and confirmatory analyses following Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) protocols, with specific requirements for identifying substances with and without labeled ingredients. The evaluation criteria include a 100-point scoring system with 25 points for Corporate Overview, 55 points for Technical Approach, and 20 points for Cost Proposal, with an additional potential 10 points from oral interviews. Proposals were originally due January 3, 2025, but were extended to January 7, 2025, at 2:00 PM CST, with an evaluation period from January 7-14, 2025, and a planned contract award on January 31, 2025. The initial contract term is two years with five optional one-year renewal periods, and vendors must maintain appropriate laboratory accreditations and meet specific turnaround times for sample analysis.

The contract appears to be non-exclusive, allowing the state to potentially contract with multiple vendors for similar services. No specific set-aside designations were mentioned for disadvantaged businesses or specific enterprise types. The Industrial Laboratories Company, Inc. was the sole respondent to this solicitation, and they were ultimately selected with a perfect 100-point score across all evaluation categories. The contract requires a mandatory $20,000 performance bond and comprehensive insurance coverage, including Workers' Compensation, Commercial General Liability, and Commercial Automobile Liability. While the total contract value was not explicitly stated, the vendor (Industrial Laboratories) provided per-sample pricing ranging from $131-$156 for paired blood/urine samples, $110-$131 for single matrix blood samples, and $200-$239 for analysis of confiscated substances across the seven potential contract years. The company demonstrated extensive experience in animal drug testing, with over 75 years in the industry, ISO 17025 and RMTC accreditations, and contracts with 19 other racing jurisdictions.