23-011430

This acquisition is being conducted under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13 - Simplified Acquisition Procedures, and the resultant contract award will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-04 dated June 2, 2023.

This acquisition is being conducted under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13 - Simplified Acquisition Procedures, and the resultant contract award will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-04 dated June 2, 2023.

The National Institute on Aging (NIA), Translational Gerontology Branch (TGB) are studying the Epigenetic changes that has been proposed as a ‘hallmark’ of aging and an element of the biological mechanisms underlying the aging process. The services for the INF (2023 Q3) Methylaton Epic V2 are for the evaluation of genome wide methylation in archived DNA samples of the BLSA using DNA methylation microarrays.  DNA methylation is the most commonly studied epigenetic mark and has been associated with aging phenotypes and age-related diseases in cross-sectional studies however longitudinal characterization of DNA methylation has been limited. Archived samples from the BLSA offer a unique opportunity to fully describe the trajectory of DNA methylation over time and across the life course as well as the ability to relate change in DNA methylation to a broad range of aging phenotypes. To capture potential nonlinear change in DNA methylation this project will interrogate genome-wide DNA methylation using serial samples from a large number of BLSA participants collected over several follow-up visits. To address the volume of samples required to characterize trajectories microarray, processing services are required to evaluate genome-wide DNA methylation in stored DNA samples.

 The Contractor shall perform genome-wide DNA methylation microarray assays for 96 archived DNA samples from the BLSA. 

1. The Contractor shall provide all necessary microarrays, reagents, consumables and equipment. The investigators and study staff of the BLSA prefer use of the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip for compatibility with existing DNA methylation data. 

2. The Contractor shall implement and document quality assurance and quality control procedures suitable to the specifics of the project.

3. The Contractor shall complete bisulfite conversion and microarray processing for provided DNA samples and appropriate controls.

4. The Contractor shall repeat assays where assay failure is due to a technical issue other than DNA sample quantity or quality as appropriate.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

The Government shall provide adequate quantities of de-identified BLSA DNA samples to the Contractor and associated data necessary for quality control analyses, such as sex. Project related samples and data will be provided to the Contractor for performance of work efforts only.  All samples and data provided to the Contractor must be treated as confidential and not be shared or disclosed to any third party.

DELIVERY OR DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall provide the raw files generated by the microarray scanner software with one file per assay and spreadsheets or database files with relevant quality control metrics (including experimental batches, specimen usage, assay success/failure rates, normalization processes), as well as an electronic copy of a report summarizing the laboratory methods and technical specifications used. All files are to be delivered within one (1) year of receipt of the samples by the Contractor. 

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 

The Contractor shall submit via e-mail in PDF or MS Word format a progress reports every three (3) months during the contract period of performance. The progress report shall include tasks completed since submission of the last progress report and a list of tasks to be completed, inclusive of timeframe. This report shall also describe any problems that arose and state the resolution or provide an explanation if a solution was not identified.

DATA RIGHTS:  

The National Institute on Aging shall have unlimited rights to and ownership of all deliverables provided under this contract including reports, recommendations, briefings, work plans and all other deliverables. This includes the deliverables provided under the basic contract and any optional task deliverables exercised by the contracting officer. In addition, it includes any additional deliverables required by contract change. The definition of “unlimited rights” is contained in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 27.401, “Definitions.” FAR clause 52.227-14, “Rights in Data-General,” is hereby incorporated by reference and made a part of this contract/order.

Contract Type: A Firm Fixed Price type order award not exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold is anticipated to be awarded resulting from this requirement.

Summary Statement:

The Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), certification of country of ownership, and the certification of business size must be included in the response.

All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) "www.sam.gov."

Quoter Terms and Conditions (To be completed by the Offeror):

 1. Period of Performance OR Delivery Date After Receipt of Order:

 2. Shipping Point (F.O.B. OR Destination):

 3. Payment Discount Terms:

 4. NIH BPA Number, if applicable:

 5. SAM UEI Number:

 6. Name of Company:

 7. Street Address, City, State, Zip code:

 8. Name of Person Authorized to Provide Quote:

 9. Telephone Number and Email Address of Person Authorized to Provide Quote:

For equipment/parts/supply requirements under this requirement, if applicable, responses must include: the place of manufacturing (i.e., address if supply/equipment is a domestic end product and include country of manufacture).

ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS, PROVISIONS, AND REPRESENTATIONS

 The FAR Clauses are incorporated by reference and are provided in full text at https://www.acquisition.gov/:

 1. FAR Provision 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items (Mar 2023) is applicable to this solicitation.

 2. FAR Provision 52.212.2 Evaluation-Commercial Items (Nov 2021) is applicable to this solicitation. The Government will evaluate quotations or offers in accordance with FAR 13.106-2 and award a purchase order from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose quote conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate quotes: Technical capability of the item offered to meet the Government requirement; Price; and Past performance [see FAR 13.106-2(b)(3)]

 3. FAR Provision 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items (Dec 2022), is applicable to this solicitation.

4. FAR 52.213-4 Terms and Conditions—Simplified Acquisitions (Other Than Commercial Products and Commercial Services).

5.  FAR Clause 52.227-14, Rights in Data-General

 In addition, the following FAR provisions and clauses are applicable to this solicitation and incorporated by reference:

 1. 52.204-7 System for Award Management (Oct 2018),

 2. 52.204-13 System for Award Management Maintenance (Oct 2018),

 3. FAR 52.204-16, Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting (Aug 2020),

 4. 52.204-18 Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance (Aug 2020),

 5. HHSAR 352.239-73, Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Notice (December 18, 2015).

 6. FAR 52.204-27, Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application (Jun 2023)

 The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition and are available as an attachment. Offerors MUST complete the provision at 52.204-24 and 52.204-26 and submit completed copies as separate documents with their quotation.

 1. FAR 52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (Nov 2021)

 2. FAR 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (Nov 2021)

 3. FAR 52.204-26, Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services Representation (Oct 2020) 3. NIH Invoice and Payment Provisions

 4. NIH Invoice and Payment Provisions 

All responses must be received by 9/18/2023, at 2PM EST and must reference announcement/solicitation number 23-011430. Responses may be submitted electronically to Randall Carter (Randall.carter@nih.gov).  Fax responses will not be accepted.

All responsible sources may submit response which, if timely received, must be considered by the agency.”