SOURCES SOUGHT
H -- Serological Testing Services - Scope of Work draft
- Notice Date
- 4/8/2013
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541380
— Testing Laboratories
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Office of Acquisitions, Office of Management, 530 Davis Drive, Durham, North Carolina, 27713, United States
- ZIP Code
- 27713
- Solicitation Number
- NIEHS20130408
- Archive Date
- 5/4/2013
- Point of Contact
- Brian J. Souter, Phone: 9195410401
- E-Mail Address
-
brian.souter@nih.gov
(brian.souter@nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- SOW This is a Sources Sought notice. This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. Background. The Comparative Medicine Branch (CMB) maintains the vivarium for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The health of the animals used in biomedical research at NIEHS is a critical factor for animal welfare and proper research design. Laboratory animals are susceptible to many different infectious diseases, which may be symptomatic or subclinical but still have profound effects on research. Some of the infectious diseases can also be zoonotic (contagious to humans). Diagnosis of these animal diseases is very important in maintaining the health and well-being of the research animals and the quality of the research performed. The CMB oversees the care and use of these animals. The Quality Assurance Laboratory (QAL), a laboratory within CMB, is responsible for monitoring the health status of incoming and resident animal colonies and making appropriate decisions based on the results of this monitoring. This health evaluation may include, as appropriate, a complete necropsy, examination for ecto- and endoparasites, bacterial cultures, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and/or serological assays. The QAL is responsible for reporting the health status of the animal or tissue specimens back to the appropriate veterinarian(s) and researchers. Purpose and Objective. The purpose of this acquisition is to obtain the services of a commercial laboratory for the screening of biological samples (primarily rodent sera, tissue, feces or immortalized cell lines) for the presence of infectious agents (rodent or human). These services will include but not be limited to serological analysis, PCR and bacteriological sequence determination of submitted samples. The overall objective is to provide testing for the diagnostic and health monitoring programs of the research animals at NIEHS. The specific objective is to have a Contractor receive samples, perform requested testing on these samples and report the results. Project Requirements. (1) The scope of this requirement will be to perform the serological and PCR testing or bacteriological sequence determination of potential pathogenic microorganisms as part of the NIEHS animal health surveillance program. Other assays, such as Western Blot or Immunofluorescent Antibody (IFA) may be requested to confirm initial positive serological results. (2) The Contractor shall perform all testing in accordance with acceptable laboratory procedures and state of the art microbiological practices. The number of tests requested per sample will depend upon species and the animal's history. (3) Independently, and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all necessary labor, materials, supplies, equipment, and services (except as otherwise specified herein) and perform the work set forth below. (4) Based on what we feel is in the best interest of the Government the Serological, PCR and bacteriological sequence determination services may be awarded in either one or two contracts. The serological assays, such as Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), Multiplex Fluorescent Immunoassay (MFI), IFA, Hemagglutination Inhibition (HAI) and Western Blot, may be awarded separately from the PCR/bacteriological sequence determination services for the presence of agents in cell cultures, tissues, feces, and swabs. (5) Serological Tests: (a) The Contractor shall, as a minimum, be prepared to perform serological assays by appropriate methods such as MFI, IFA, ELISA, and HAI, as appropriate. IFA and/or Western Blot methodology should be available for confirmatory testing. Should new testing technology become available or new pathogenic agents be discovered during the course of this offering, it will be incorporated through modification of the Contract. (b) Rodent sera shall be processed (diluted 1.5 and heat inactivated at 56°C for 30 minutes) by NIEHS personnel, frozen in 2 ml cryotubes labeled with the QAL's identification number and shipped in leak proof styrofoam containers with ice packs or dry ice. The styrofoam container will be delivered to the Contractor by express overnight delivery service at the Contractor's own expense. Samples will be shipped by the Government on Wednesday afternoons by 4:00 p.m. with an anticipated arrival time and day of 10:00 a.m., Thursday of the following day of shipment. Sera shall be received at the Contractor's testing laboratory within twenty (20) hours following pickup. If the samples are not received within the designated timeframe the Contractor will contact the Government's Contracting Officer Representative (COR) by phone for further instructions. (c) The Contractor shall perform the appropriate tests requested by the QAL and provide the COR with reports of the serological results within the following time periods: The Contractor shall provide to the COR by email or fax at the Contractor's expense the serological results within 3 working days from the date of receipt of the sera and a final written report within 10 working days of receipt of the sera. (6) PCR Assays: (a) The Contractor shall be prepared to perform PCR assays for a variety of agents. Cell lines, tissues, fecal samples, and environmental swabs will be shipped in a leak proof, styrofoam container with ice packs or dry ice. The styrofoam container will be delivered to the Contractor by express delivery service at the Contractor's own expense. Samples will be shipped by the Government on Wednesday afternoons by 4:00 p.m. with an anticipated arrival time and day of 10:00 a.m., Thursday of the following day of shipment. Samples for PCR shall be received at the Contractor's testing laboratory within twenty (20) hours following pickup. If samples are not received within the designated timeframe, the Contractor will contact the COR by phone for further instructions. These further instructions shall be by email/fax from the COR. (b) The Contractor shall perform the appropriate requested tests and provide the COR with reports of the PCR results within the following time periods: Results shall be reported by email or fax at Contractor's expense within 7 working days after receipt of specimens by the Contractor and a final written report within 10 working days after the receipt of samples. (7) Bacteriological sequence determination: (a) The Contractor should be prepared to perform partial genomic sequence determination (e.g., 16s rRNA sequence) of submitted bacteriological samples and report likely organism(s) identification based on this sequence. Bacteriological samples in PBS will be shipped in a leak proof, styrofoam container with ice pakcs or dry ice. The styrofoam container will be delivered to the Contractor by express delivery service at the Contractor's own expense. Samples will be shipped by the Government on Wednesday afternoons at 4:00 p.m. with an anticipated arrival time and day of 10:00 a.m., Thursday of the following day of shipment. Samples for sequence determination shall be received at the Contractor's testing laboratory within twenty (20) hours following pickup. If samples are not received within the designated timeframe, the Contractor will contact the COR by phone for further instructions. These further instructions shall be by email/fax from the COR. (b) The Contractor shall perform the appropriate requested tests and provide the COR with reports of the sequence determination and organism(s) determination results within the following time periods: Results shall be reported by email or fax at Contractor's expense within 15 working days after receipt of specimens by the Contractor and a final written report within 20 working days after the fax or email report. (8) The Contractor's lab shall be fully equipped (laboratory and computer equipment) to provide serological testing, PCR assays and bacteriological sequence determination prior to bidding on the solicitation. Equipment used in these testing procedures shall be maintained in good working order. Calibration of all devices and testing equipment shall be done with sufficient frequency as to ensure accurate results. (9) The COR may request expedited processing of PCR assays specimens deemed critical by the COR at no additional cost to the Government. For these samples the Contractor shall process and report test results electronically by e-mail within four (4) working days of receipt of the specimen. (10) After completion of the all requested testing, the test sample (if sufficient sample remains) shall be stored for six months at - 70°C. During this period stored samples shall be returned to the COR (or authorized designee) if so requested. After six months the samples may be discarded. (11) In the event of an outbreak at the NIEHS of rodent disease caused by an unknown agent(s), the Contractor shall be able to perform or assist in research to help elucidate the cause, pathogenesis, and epidemiology of the causative agent as requested by the COR. In this event or in the event of an outbreak of a known rodent agent the Contractor may be requested to handle a greatly increased number of samples for that particular agent. The Contractor shall process these samples and report the results by email transmission within three (3) workdays of receipt of the sera samples and seven (7) workdays of receipt of the PCR samples by the Contractor from the Government. (12) The COR/CO may make an annual visit to the Contractor's place of work to inspect and review the testing procedures covered in the resultant contract. The COR and/or the CO shall tour the facility with a representative of the Contractor. The COR has the option to observe all of the procedures mentioned in the resultant contract while visiting the Contractor. (13)The COR may request that the Contractor send a representative to the NIEHS, Research Triangle Park, to make a presentation on this testing program and/or answer questions from the NIEHS user community. The requirement will not exceed one visit per year. (14) The Contractor shall maintain an electronic copy of this data for the life of the resultant contract. Anticipated period of performance is October 1, 2013 thru September 30, 2014 for the base year and October 1, 2014 thru September 30,2018 (four 12 month option periods) if the Government exercises its options. Other Important Considerations. (a) All work under the resultant contract shall be monitored by the COR whose position will be defined in the resultant contract. (b) Samples must be properly maintained and handled by the Contractor for determining accurate test results. (c) Shipping: Specimens for testing will be shipped in leak proof styrofoam containers with ice packs or dry ice. NOTE: Any Mycoplasma isolates on agar plates will be shipped in separate containers without ice packs or dry ice. (d) If samples are not received within the designated timeframe, the Contractor will notify the COR and/or the CO by phone. The COR will provide instructions at that time in writing, based on the sensitivity of the sample, on how to proceed with testing. Capability Statement/Information Sought. Respondents must provide, as part of their responses a capability statement and information and answers to the following questions/issues: (1) Respondents' opinions about the difficulty and/or feasibility of the potential requirement or proposed acquisition, possible solutions and approaches that may currently exist in the marketplace, and information regarding innovative ideas or concepts; (2) Information regarding respondents': (a) staff expertise, including their availability, experience, and formal and other training; (b) current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work; (c) prior completed projects of a similar nature; (d) corporate experience and management capability; and (e) examples of prior completed Government contracts, reference, and other related information; (3) Respondents' DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code; (4) Respondents' information should be outlined and the material should be organized (e.g., cover page, title, index of topics addressed, executive summary, etc.); (5) 15 Page limit, does not include references (6) Respondents' shall provide with their responses their technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses; (7) All responses to this notice shall be emailed to Mr. Brian Souter, Contracting Officer, at brian.souter@nih.gov ;, not later than 4pm local time on the 19th of April 2013; (8) Key personnel designated by the Contractor shall include: (a) A Project Supervisor responsible for overseeing all testing related to the contract and personnel. This individual shall have a Ph.D. in microbiology or DVM/VMD from an accredited school of veterinary medicine and be board certified by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine. This individual shall have a minimum of five years in laboratory rodent serology testing and PCR assays. (b) A Laboratory Supervisor who is responsible for supervising the personnel actually performing the assays. This individual may serve as the principal contact for the COR and/or his/her designee. This individual shall have a minimum of a Bachelor's degree and one year's experience with rodent serologic and/or PCR testing in a supervisory capacity; and (9) Does the respondent provide these services to non-Government customers and/or to the general public? Yes ___ / No ___ Disclaimer and Important Notes. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provided feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NIEHS/NIEHS20130408/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27709, United States
- Zip Code: 27709
- Zip Code: 27709
- Record
- SN03031173-W 20130410/130408234334-0f08bacde06d851d6e224fde8ace5c40 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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