75N95024Q00076

REQUEST NUMBER: 75N95024Q00076

DATE ISSUED: January 25, 2024

ISSUED BY CONTRACTING OFFICE:  Department of Health and Human Services / National Institutes of Health / National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)/ OA / 301 N Stonestreet Ave, Bethesda, MD 20892

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:  Nick Niefeld nick.niefeld@nih.gov

NORTH AMERICAN CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE: 

541380 - TESTING LABORATORIES AND SERVICES

SMALL BUSINESS SIZE STANDARD: $16.5M

SET-ASIDE STATUS: N/A

Competition Status:  This requirement is non-competitive.

Non-Competitive (Single-sole Source (Including brand-name)) Determination: I hereby determine that the item or service listed herein is available from only one source and competition is precluded for the reasons that there are no substitutes or alternatives available.

DATE QUOTATION DUE:

All responses to this RFQ must be received by 11:00 AM Eastern, on February 2, 2024 and must reference the request number cited above. Responses must be submitted electronically to the contact person cited above. Fax responses will not be accepted.

IMPORTANT: This is a request for quotations. If you are unable to quote, please so indicate in a reply email to the contract specialist cited herein.  This request does not commit the Government to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of the submission of this quotation or to contract for supplies or service. Supplies are of domestic origin unless otherwise indicated by quoter. Any representations and/or certifications attached to this Request for Quotation must be completed by the quoter.

Scope of work: 

Independently and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government as needed to perform the Statement of Work below:

The SCTL will prepare and provide the samples for this study, which includes 3 Human iPSC-derived Neuron slides (‘Samples”) by placing the specimen within the imageable area of a MERSCOPE slide. 

The Sample is cell culture, SCTL will seed the cells on to the MERSCOPE slide and grow to 70% cell density. For this study, vendor will use a custom MERFISH gene panel, up to 140 genes, to profile the gene expression of the Human iPSC-derived Neuron samples provided by the SCTL. Then, the vendor will perform MERFISH imaging, decode the acquired MERFISH data, analyze the expression profile of targeted genes in the requested samples will perform data analysis, assist with biological interpretation, and preparation of publication ready figures. Finally, the vendor will make the data, finalized analysis, and publication ready figures available to the SCTL via FTP or HTML download.

Project requirements:

The services consist of two phases: 

Phase 1: Gene panel development and protocol optimization 

Vendor will perform MERFISH imaging to optimize protocols for the Samples provided by Client to establish a protocol for Phase 2 study. 

Tests in this phase include:

• Consultation for MERFISH gene panel selection for custom gene panels;

• MERFISH gene panel production and evaluation;

• Single molecule RNA FISH imaging of Vendor’s validated benchmark genes following the 

MERFISH staining protocol to evaluate the RNA quality in shipped samples, as needed; 

•Initial sample evaluation including cell segmentation analysis;

Upon completing the test measurements, Vendor will provide a report on the feasibility of MERFISH measurement on the submitted samples. Vizgen and SCTL will decide on a Phase 2 protocol for the Phase 2 MERFISH study (“Phase 2 Protocol”). 

The timeline for Phase 1 is 1 month(s). 

Phase 2: MERFISH study

Vendor will conduct a full study of spatially resolved gene expression profiling analysis via MERFISH with Phase 2 Protocol on the requested Samples provided by Client. Vendor will work collaboratively with SCTL to help with the gene panel selection and refinement, process the requested samples and analyze the data. 

Services in this phase include:

•Sample processing and measurement using established Phase 2 Protocol; 

•Data analysis and visualization.       

• Vendor will deliver a table describing the positions and identities of all detected RNA transcripts for all measurement samples. 
• Vendor will provide a table describing the counts of each RNA species detected in each cell and the spatial position and volume of each cell for each sample.
• Mosaic image depicting the nucleus staining. 
• Vendor will provide guidance for additional analysis.

Period of Performance 

12 months

Contract Type:

A Fixed-Price type of Purchase Order award not exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold is anticipated for any contract resulting from this requirement. The anticipated award date is February 6, 2024.

QUOTER TERMS AND CONDITIONS (to be filled out 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. Select One: Open Market; GSA FSS Contract Number; Other Government Agency (OGA) Contract Number, Government-wide Agency (GWAC) Contract Number; or National Institute of Health (NIH) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) Number:
5. DUNS No:
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:

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. The provisions of FAR Clause 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Items (Sep 2023) is applicable to this solicitation. 
2. The provisions of FAR Clause 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:
   1. Technical capability of the item offered to meet the Government requirement;
   2. Price; and
   3. Past performance [see FAR 13.106-2(b)(3)].
      1. The provisions of FAR Clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications—Commercial Items (Nov 2023), is applicable to this solicitation. 
      2. The provisions of FAR Clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items (Nov 2023) with Addenda: Stop Work Order, FAR Clause 52.242-15 (August 1989) is applicable to this solicitation. 
      3. The provisions of FAR clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders—Commercial products and items (Dec 2023) is applicable to this solicitation:

52.222-3 Convict Labor (June 2003)

52.222-19 Child Labor-Cooperation With Authorities and Remedies (Nov 2023)

52.222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Apr 2015)

52.222-26 Equal Opportunity (Sep 2016)

52.222-36 Equal Opportunity for Workers With Disabilities (Jun 2020)

52.222-50 Combating Trafficking in Persons (Nov 2021)

52.223-18 Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (Jun 2020)

52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-- System for Award Management (Oct 2018)

52.204-27 Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application (Jun 2023)

52.203-17 Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights (Nov 2023)

In addition, the following FAR provisions are applicable to this solicitation and incorporated by reference: 52.204-7 System for Award Management (Oct 2018), 

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

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

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

The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition and are incorporated as an attachment. Offerors MUST complete the provision at 52.204-24 and submit a completed copy as a separate document with their quotation. 

1. FAR 52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (NOV 2021)
2. FAR 52.204-26, Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services-Representation (Oct 2020)
3. NIH Invoice and Payment Provisions (3/2023)

SUMMARY STATEMENT:

Responses to this notice must include sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities of providing the product or service.  The response shall include a QUOTATION that includes: unit price, list price, total price, any shipping and handling costs, delivery days after contract award, delivery terms, prompt payment discount terms, F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), product or catalog number(s); product description; and any other information or factors that may be considered in the award decision.  Such factors may include: past performance; special features required for effective program performance; trade-in considerations; probable life of the item selected as compared with that of a comparable item; warranty considerations; maintenance availability; and environmental and energy efficiency considerations