SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- Chemistry Services for the NTP
- Notice Date
- 8/20/2013
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- 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
- NTPSS2013008
- Archive Date
- 9/13/2013
- Point of Contact
- Patrick J Barbour, Phone: 919-541-7596, Jennifer Smith, Phone: 919-541-0424
- E-Mail Address
-
barbourp@niehs.nih.gov, smithj3@niehs.nih.gov
(barbourp@niehs.nih.gov, smithj3@niehs.nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- "Chemistry Services for the National Toxicology Program (NTP)" Introductory Paragraph This is a 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. The NAICS code for this project is 541712. Background The National Toxicology Program (NTP) was established within the Department of Health and Human Services in 1978 and charged with coordinating toxicological testing programs within the Public Health Service of the Department, strengthening the science base in toxicology, and providing information about potentially toxic chemicals to health, regulatory and research agencies, scientific and medical communities, and the public. The NTP, as part of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), is responsible for evaluating the toxic and carcinogenic potential of environmental agents that may pose a health hazard to citizens of the United States. The NTP currently conducts short-term and long-term studies to evaluate the potential for toxicity, including developmental and reproductive toxicity, immunotoxicity, genetic toxicity, and carcinogenicity on a variety of test articles by various routes of exposure. In addition, the NTP has an in-house research component and a high-throughput toxicity-screening (Tox21) program. These programs include diverse agents such as environmental chemicals; chemicals used in manufacturing or industrial settings; naturally occurring chemicals; food additives, preservatives, colorants or flavorings; pharmaceuticals, herbal remedies and dietary supplements; herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides; ingredients found in a wide variety of consumer products including soaps, lotions, perfumes and cosmetics; chemicals used in detergents and cleaners, etc.; naturally occurring and synthetic fibers, nanomaterials including carbon nanotubes; heavy metals; plasticizers; flame retardants; and mold or mold components. Purpose and Objectives The purpose of this project is to provide Chemistry Support Services for the NTP. The objective of this project will be to provide all of the chemistry support activities of the non-inhalation and non-aquatic toxicology laboratories for the NTP to include chemical procurement, characterization, and dose formulation services. Project Requirements Major tasks required include the following: 1) Program Management, including effective quality program management consistent with the requirements of the Food and Drug Administration Good Laboratory Practices for Nonclinical Studies, possess an effective health and safety program, appropriate animal facilities which are in accordance with the Association of the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) and NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW), and an effective information management system to track progress of all assigned work. 2) Logistics and Handling, including all activities related to procurement of large quantities (up to 200 kg) of chemicals; handling, including milling, and homogenizing up to 200 kg quantities; and shipment of, up to 200 kg of chemicals and test articles, or other samples to NTP-designated laboratories; storage of chemicals or test articles, including 55-gallon drums, and biological samples at appropriate temperatures (~ -70ºC to 25ºC); determining solubility, suspendability, and/or syringeability of a chemical or test article in a designated vehicle, e.g., corn oil, water, or dimethylsulfoxide. 3) Characterization, including all activities related to determining the unequivocal identity and purity of a chemical, test article or sample, including developing methods needed to perform the analysis. NTP chemicals and test articles have included diverse agents such as environmental chemicals; chemicals used in manufacturing or industrial settings; naturally occurring chemicals; food additives, preservatives, colorants or flavorings; pharmaceuticals, herbal remedies and dietary supplements; herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides; ingredients found in a wide variety of consumer products including soaps, lotions, perfumes and cosmetics; chemicals used in detergents and cleaners, etc.; naturally occurring and synthetic fibers, nanomaterials including carbon nanotubes; heavy metals; plasticizers; flame retardants; and mold or mold components. 4) Formulation, including all activities related to dose preparation, mixing, and analysis of formulations containing a chemical, test article or sample in a variety of vehicles (e.g., corn oil, water, aqueous methylcellulose, feed, air, etc.), including developing and validating methods needed to perform the analyses, and establishing the stability and homogeneity of the chemical or test article in the vehicle. 5) Biosample Analysis, including all activities related to determination of the concentration or biological activity (enzyme inhibition, DNA adduct formation) of a chemical, test article, sample or its metabolites in a variety of matrices (e.g., blood, plasma, liver, kidney, fat, commercial dietary supplements, filters, etc.), including developing and validating methods needed to perform the analyses. 6) Animal Studies, including all activities requiring administration of test article(s) to animals. This includes activities related to determining the toxicokinetics of a chemical, test article or sample administered to an animal (usually rodents), and establishing the palatability of chemical formulations administered to an animal. 7) Special Studies, includes all activities that are part of the overall scope of the contract, but are not contained within a single functional area, or represent only a portion of a functional area. For example, a dose analysis assignment that includes a validation or a dose formulation development effort that includes a validation but not a stability study, are special chemical analyses. 8) High Throughput Screen (HTS) Activities, includes all activities related to procuring, formulating, handling, and shipping small amounts of large numbers (up to 1450) of chemicals used in the NTP HTS tox screen (Tox21). Formulation activities involve preparing 20 mM solutions of each chemical in DMSO. Handling involves dispensing the prepared formulations into multiple (typically, ≤ 10) sets of four, 384-well plates and shipping the prepared plates to an NTP-designated laboratory. Details of the requirements for each of the above activities can be found at: http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/chemistryspecs. Other Important Considerations This work requires the contractor to have or establish a materials handling facility capable of safely processing and containing chemicals, including suspect human carcinogens; and safely formulating chemicals or test articles in a variety of vehicles, e.g., water, corn oil, feed (up to 20-kg batches) or DMSO. Anticipated Period of Performance The anticipated period of performance for this requirement is June 15, 2014 through June 14, 2024. Information Sought Interested organizations are required to submit five (5) hard copies of their capability statement, not to exceed fifteen (15) pages in length; not including a standard product brochure that clearly details the ability to perform the aspects of the notice described above and should be tailored to the "Project Requirements" as concise as possible. Each response should also include the following business information: a. DUNS number b. Organization Name c. Company Address d. Point of Contact (including name, title, addresses, telephone number, fax number and Email address) e. Business size f. Socio-economic status g. Teaming Agreements (if necessary) Standard product brochures will not be considered a sufficient response to this sources sought synopsis. All information must be received by NIEHS no later than: August 29, 2013 - 3:00 PM, EST. Mail information to: Patrick J. Barbour, Contract Specialist, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, OM, Office of Acquisitions, P.O. Box 12874, RTP, NC 27709. For express delivery, send to: Patrick J. Barbour, Contract Specialist, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, OM, Office of Acquisitions, 530 Davis Drive, Morrisville, NC 27560. Telephone number: (919) 541-7596. 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 provide 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. Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s). Interested offerors may register at http://www.fedbizopps.gov to receive notification when the solicitation and any amendments are issued and available for downloading. Please note that the General Services Administration provides the notification service as a convenience and does not guarantee that notifications will be received by all persons on the mailing list. Therefore, we recommend that you monitor the FedBizOpps site for all information relevant to desired acquisitions. If the Internet option is not available to you, you may receive a hard copy of the solicitation and any amendments (via U.S. Mail) by emailing your request to barbourp@niehs.nih.gov.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NIEHS/NTPSS2013008/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: N/A, United States
- Record
- SN03155972-W 20130822/130821000313-db452e8dffa7a5b65b790648364c22bf (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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