SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- Pathology Monitoring of Aged Rodent Colonies
- Notice Date
- 7/20/2004
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541710
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Division of Research Acquisition, 6100 Executive Boulevard, Room 6E01, MSC 7540, Bethesda, MD, 20892-7540
- ZIP Code
- 20892-7540
- Solicitation Number
- AG-260-04-09
- Response Due
- 9/20/2004
- Archive Date
- 10/5/2004
- Point of Contact
- Donna Spicer, Contract Specialist, Phone 301-496-4487, Fax 301-402-0178, - Donna Spicer, Contract Specialist, Phone 301-496-4487, Fax 301-402-0178,
- E-Mail Address
-
spicerd@od.nih.gov, spicerd@od.nih.gov
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation and proposals are hereby being requested. Solicitation NIH-AG-260-04-09 is a Request for Proposal. This requirement is a re-competition of contract no. N01-AG-0-2103 with BioReliance, Inc. The duration of the proposed firm fixed contract is one year with four (04) successive one year option periods. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisitions Circulars?s (FACs) 97-03 and 97-04. This is an unrestricted acquisition and not set aside for small businesses. SECTION C: The objective of this project is to provide an independent surveillance of the health status of rodents maintained in contractor facilities for the aged rodent colonies. The evaluation to be performed will include gross pathology, histopathology, microbiology, parasitology and serology. The Project Office will select animals from the colonies in a manner which samples the range of strains, ages and holding rooms that characterize the colonies. The number of animals to be tested each year is dependent on the number of contract colonies in operation each year. There are five colonies to be covered by this contract: the Fisher 344 rat colony; the multi-genotypic mouse colony; the caloric-restricted colony (rat and mouse); the hybrid rat colony; and the new mutant mouse aging colony when it is established. Each rodent colony contract is a nine-year contract with the renewal contract for each colony beginning in year 7 of the original contract, with a 3 year overlap of the contracts to ensure constant supply of animals. The first year of the rodent colony contracts is devoted to re-derivation of strains, so there are no animals to be tested in that year. Years 2 through 9 represent the build-up and maintenance of the active colonies, when health monitoring is performed regularly. Eighty percent of the animals will be evaluated with the basic profile, and 20% of the animals will be evaluated with the comprehensive profile. Specifically, the contractor shall perform clinical evaluation of mice and rats selected by the Project Officer from the NIA colonies and shipped (at no cost to the contractor) on a quarterly basis. Total numbers of rats anticipated on an annual basis 280, 330, 360, 240, 180 and total number of mice on an annual basis 160, 300, 240, 180, 180 for years 1 through 5 respectively. No more than 30 animals will be shipped in any one week. Animals will be identified as to which barrier and room from which they were shipped. In the event of an apparent outbreak of disease, or serious question regarding the health status of a group of animals, the contractor shall immediately contact the Project Officer by telephone and follow-up with written notification. This schedule may be altered after consultation between the Project Officer, the NIH Contracting Officer, and the Contractor in such an event. Upon receipt of animals from the Colony Contractor, the Contractor shall divide each quarterly shipment of animals from each contract into two (2) groups. One group consisting of 80% of the animals and representing each barrier and room will be tested for agents listed below under Basic Profile. The other 20% of animals will be tested for the agents listed under the Comprehensive profile. Specifically, the contractor shall: 1) Describe general conditions of all animals, weight, and any visible lesions or symptoms, 2) Conduct a gross pathology examination on all animals using procedures that will maximize the chance for detection of the agents listed below, c) Eighty percent of the animals will be evaluated with the Basic Profile (below) and the other 20% will be evaluated with the Comprehensive Profile, which includes the Basic Profile plus additional tests listed under Comprehensive Profile. All tests are applied to both rats and mice unless indicated specific to either rats (R) or mice (M). BASIC PROFILE: Viruses-MHV (M), Ectromelia virus (M), Mouse parvovirus(es) (M), Theiler?s (M), PVM, LCMV (M), Rotavirus (M), Sendai, Rat Parvoviruses (R), Rate Coronovirus (R); Microbiology- Mycoplasma pulmonis, Corynebacterium kutscheri, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Citrobacter freundii (4280), Pseudomonas sp., Salmonella enteritidis; Parasitology - Spironucleus muris, Giardia sp., Cryptosporidium sp., Syphacia sp., Hymenolepis sp., Mites; Histopathology- GI tract, Small intestine, Cecum, Colon, Respiratory tract: Nasal passages, Middle ears, Lungs, Trachea Liver. COMPREHENSIVE PROFILE: Viruses - Reovirus(es), Polyomavirus (M), Adenoviruses, LDV (M), TMEV (R), Hantavirus (R); Microbiology- CAR bacillus (histopathology), Pasteurella pneumontropica, Bacillus piliformis (histopathology); Histopathology - Spleen, Thymus, Heart, Kidney, Productive Organs: Ovaries, Uterus, Testes, Prepuce, Brain, Skin, Salivary gland, Harderian gland. Disposal of Tissue/Slides: a)Excess tissue can be disposed of upon completion of the analysis. Slides and embedded tissue blocks are to be archived for a period of 5 years, after which they may be discarded unless otherwise specified by the Project Officer and b) The contractor must be prepared to accept delivery of archived slides and tissue blocks from the current contract with BioReliance, Inc. and store them for the remainder of the five year archival period. SECTION D: All deliverables required under this contract shall be packaged, marked and shipped in accordance with Government specifications. The Contractor shall guarantee that all required materials shall be delivered in immediate usable and acceptable condition. SECTION E: INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE - The deliverables shall be inspected and accepted at destination by the NIH Project Officer. SECTION F: REPORTS AND DELIVERABLES - The following reports and deliverables are required: 1) The data generated from these evaluations will be gross pathology, histopathology, microbiology, Parasitology, and serology data on each individual animal submitted for evaluation. Data shall be collected on forms supplied by the Contractor in a format approved by the Project Officer. Copies of data forms for each animal, together with a summary report of findings and a Contractor's statement regarding the significance of these results in terms of the success of colony management practices and the health of colony animals, shall be delivered to the Project Officer within sixty (60) calendar days of animal shipment to the Contractor. The Contractor will be expected to retain at least one copy of each raw data form for use in preparation of an annual report. 2) The original annual report shall be delivered to the Project Officer and one copy of the annual report shall be delivered to the Contracting Officer within ninety (90) calendar days of the completion of each project year. This report shall consist of a summary of the number of animals evaluated and a Contractor's statement regarding the significance of these results in terms of the success of colony management practices and the health of colony animals. 3) The original final report shall be delivered to the Project Officer and one copy of the final report shall be delivered to the Contracting Officer. The final report shall consist of the work performed and results obtained for the entire contract period of performance. The Contractor shall submit, with the final report, a summary of salient results achieved during the performance of the contract. The following clauses are incorporated into the solicitation: FAR 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS-COMMERCIAL ITEMS; FAR 52.212-2 EVALUATION-COMMERCIAL ITEMS. The Government shall award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to this solicitation will be advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The proposals received in response to this RFP will be reviewed by an ad hoc review group established by the NIA Scientific Review Office. The following factors, listed in order of relative importance, shall be used to evaluate offers: I. Experience: (60 points)Documented evidence of experience in pathological, microbiological and serological assessment of health status of mice and rats, with specific experience in tests required in the scope of this work. Evidence of knowledge specific to pathological assessment and health status of aged mice and rats. Specific evidence (e.g. publication, training, prior experience) specific to aged rodents should be provided. II. Facilities: (20 points) Suitability of facilities for short-term maintenance of animals to be evaluated prior to evaluation. Must detail effective system to protect these animals from contamination by other animals passing through facility. Must demonstrate competence in laboratory quality control through such measures as: copies of lab protocols, quality control procedures, lists of reference reagents, and history of reliability. III. Awareness: (20 points)A demonstrated awareness of diseases, degenerative problems, and other conditions likely to be observed in the conduct of this project and the significance of these observation to the general health status of the colonies being monitored. PAST PERFORMANCE FACTOR An evaluation of offeror's past performance information will be conducted subsequent to the technical evaluation. However, this evaluation will not be conducted on any offeror whose proposal would not be selected for award based on the results of the evaluation of factors other than past performance. The evaluation will be based on information obtained from references provided by the offeror, other relevant past performance information obtained from other sources known to the Government, and any information supplied by the offeror concerning problems encountered on the identified contracts and corrective action taken. The Government will assess the relative risks associated with each offeror. Performance risks are those associated with an offeror's likelihood of success in performing the acquisition requirements as indicated by that offeror's record of past performance. The assessment of performance risk is not intended to be the product of a mechanical or mathematical analysis of an offeror's performance on a list of contracts but rather the product of subjective judgment by the Government after it considers all available and relevant information. When assessing performance risks, the Government will focus on the past performance of the offeror as it relates to all acquisition requirements, such as the offeror's record of performing according to specifications, including standards of good workmanship; the offeror's record of controlling and forecasting costs; the offeror's adherence to contract schedules, including the administrative aspects of performance; the offeror's reputation for reasonable and cooperative behavior and commitment to customer satisfaction; and generally, the offeror's business-like concern for the interest of the customer. The Government will consider the currency and relevance of the information, source of the information, context of the data, and general trends in the offeror's performance. The lack of a relevant performance record may result in an unknown performance risk assessment, which will neither be used to the advantage nor disadvantage of the offeror. The following rating method shall be used in the evaluation of past performance information:+2Excellent - Based on the offeror's performance record, no doubt exists that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort. Sources of information are consistently firm in stating that the offeror's performance was superior and that they would unhesitatingly do business with the offeror again.+1Good - Based on the offeror's performance record, little doubt exists that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort. Sources of information state that the offeror's performance was good, better than average, etc., and that they would do business with the offeror again. 0None - No past performance history identifiable.-1 Marginal - Based on the offeror's performance record, some doubt exists that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort. Sources of information make unfavorable reports about the offeror's performance and express concern about doing business with the offeror again. -2 Poor - Based on the offeror's performance record, serious doubt exists that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort. Sources of information consistently stated that the offeror's performance was entirely unsatisfactory and that they would not do business with the offeror again. EVALUATION OF SMALL DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS PARTICIPATION-SDB participation will not be scored, but the Government?s conclusions about overall commitment and realism of the offeror?s SDB Participation targets will be used in determining the relative merits of the offeror?s proposal and in selecting the offeror whose proposal is considered to offer the best value to the Government. The extent of the offeror?s Small Disadvantaged Business Participation Targets will be evaluated before determination of the competitive range. Evaluation of SDB participation will be assessed based on consideration of the information presented in the offeror?s proposal. The Government is seeking to determine whether the offeror has demonstrated a commitment to use SDB concerns for the work that it intends to perform. Offers will be evaluated on the following sub-factors: (a)Extent to which SDB concerns are specifically identified.(b) Complexity and variety of the work SDB concerns are to perform.(c)Realism of the proposal.(d)Extent of participation of SDB concerns in terms of the value of the total acquisition. PRICE: Price is to be proposed on a cost per animal basis. The technical proposal shall receive paramount consideration in making an award under this solicitation; offeror must include a completed copy of FAR 52.212-3 OFFEROR REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATION-COMMERCIAL ITEMS with its offer; FAR 52.212-4 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS-COMMERCIAL ITEMS; FAR52.212-5 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT STATUTES OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS-COMMERCIAL ITEMS, applies to this acquisition with the following additional clauses: 52.203-6 RESTRICTIONS ON SUBCONTRACTOR SALES TO THE GOVERNMENT with ALTERNATE I, 52.203-10 PRICE OR FEE ADJUSTMENT FOR ILLEGAL OR IMPROPER ACTIVITY, 52.219-8 UTILIZATION OF SMALL, SMALL DISADVANTAGED AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS, 52.219-14 LIMITATION ON SUBCONTRACTING, 52.222-26 EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, 52.222-35 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FOR SPECIAL DISABLED AND VIETNAM ERA VETERANS, 52.222-36 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FOR HANDICAPPED WORKERS, 52.222-37 EMPLOYMENT REPORTS ON SPECIAL DISABLED VETERANS AND VETERANS OF THE VIETNAM ERA, and 52.225-3 BUY AMERICAN ACT. The following additional clauses apply to this acquisition: FAR 52.215-21 REQUIREMENTS FOR COST OR PRICING DATA OR INFORMATION OTHER THAN COST OR PRICING DATA, 52.215-43 AUDIT-COMMERCIAL ITEMS, 52.217-5 EVALUATION OF OPTIONS, AND PHS 352.280-2 CARE OF LIVE VERTEBRATE ANIMALS. Direct all questions and inquiries referencing RFP No. NIH-AG- 260-04-09, by FAX (301) 402-0178 or phone (301) 496-4487, or e-mail spicerd@od.nih.gov to Ms. Donna Spicer. Including originals, submit in writing, six (6) copies of the technical proposal and four (4) copies of the business proposals not later than sixty (60) calendar days after publication of this notice, 4:00pm local time. Please reference the solicitation number on proposals. If using U.S. Postal Service, send proposals to: National Institutes of Health, Division of Research Acquisition, OLAO,OD,OA 6100 Executive Blvd., Room 6E01, M.C. 7540, Bethesda, MD 20892-7540. If using delivery service or hand-delivering, send proposals to: National Institutes of Health, Division of Research Acquisition, OLAO, OD, OA, 6100 Executive Blvd., Room 6E01, Rockville, MD 20852.
- Record
- SN00626660-W 20040722/040720211732 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
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