75N95024Q00109

REQUEST NUMBER: 75N95024Q00109

DATE ISSUED: February 26, 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:  

334516 - Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing

SMALL BUSINESS SIZE STANDARD: 1,000 Employees

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 March 4, 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 National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation’s leading medical research agency and the primary Federal agency whose mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability, conducting, supporting and making medical discoveries that improve people’s health and save lives. 

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) is a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with the mission to catalyze the generation of innovative methods and technologies that will enhance the development, testing and implementation of diagnostics and therapeutics across a wide range of human diseases and conditions. The Stem Cell Translation Laboratory (SCTL) is a state-of-the-art research facility within NCATS’ Division of Pre-Clinical Innovation dedicated to addressing the scientific and technological challenges in the iPSC field. The SCTL uses an integrated technological approach to better understand pluripotent stem cell biology and thereby leverage drug discovery and regenerative medicine.

This request is required by SCTL as part of the overall mission of the Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative to focus on the development of human cell-based models of opioid misuse and addiction, and pain. The SelecT was purchased in 2017 and has been in constant use since calibrated and optimized. 

Ongoing research projects in SCTL focus on understanding molecular mechanisms regulating stem cell pluripotency and their multi-lineage differentiation capabilities with a focus on defining optimum culture conditions for maintaining pluripotent stem cells and their conversion to a homogeneous and mature population of differentiated cells. To achieve these aims, SCTL performed rigorous internal tests of a variety of stem cell culture systems from several vendors and concluded that the Essential 6 stem cell culture system from Life Technologies Corporation meets our specific requirement, including supporting stem cell pluripotency maintenance, multi-lineage differentiation, and 3-D culture. Any cell culture media used in this context must meet specific measurements of purity and consistency from batch to batch to provide consistent cell growth and viability. In addition, numerous batches of cells have been grown using Essential 6 and the result was consistent and predictable growth resulting in successful assays performed at NIH NCATS

Scope: 

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:

SCTL uses the CompacT SelecT automated cell culture system (SelecT) to achieve industrial-scale production and ensure consistent quality between batches of stem cells produced in the lab. Cells require a variety of media and supplements to nurture based on the type of cell, while other supplements are used for differentiation. The SelecT requires the Essential 6 Medium to be in bulk, preferably in bag format to integrate into the system properly and to avoid contamination. SCTL needs bulk-bagged media from Life Technologies to culture stem cells on the Select.

Project requirements: 

Xeno-free and feeder-free medium specially formulated for the growth and expansion of human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). Support iPSC growth for >50 passages without any signs of karyotypic abnormalities. Maintain the ability of iPSCs to differentiate into all three germ line lineages. Reduced variability compared to existing feeder-free media.

Quantity: 5 each 5 L Essential 6™ Medium Rapid Prototyping Liquid (bag) Cat# ME17436L1

Delivery Date: We require that the vendor provide these items in multiple shipments per the following instructions: The items listed below are to be delivered as soon as possible upon

Period of Performance 

2 Weeks ARO

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 March 5, 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.