SOURCES SOUGHT
Q -- Longitudinal Study of Sex Differences in Autoantibodies and Autoimmune Diseases with Aging
- Notice Date
- 7/11/2023 10:50:19 AM
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 621511
— Medical Laboratories
- Contracting Office
- NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIDA Bethesda MD 20892 USA
- ZIP Code
- 20892
- Solicitation Number
- 75N95023Q00467
- Response Due
- 7/25/2023 10:00:00 AM
- Archive Date
- 08/09/2023
- Point of Contact
- Andrea Clay, Karen Mahon
- E-Mail Address
-
amcgee@nida.nih.gov, Karen.Mahon@nih.gov
(amcgee@nida.nih.gov, Karen.Mahon@nih.gov)
- Description
- 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. This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition.� It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract.� Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes.� No award will be made as a result of this notice.� The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice.� This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. Background:� Autoimmune diseases are a group of more than 80 chronic illnesses due in part to an inappropriate immune system response that leads the body to attack itself. More than 23.5 million people in the US are affected by autoimmune diseases. For some unknown reason, many of these diseases are increasing in prevalence in industrialized countries in the past few decades. Since most of these autoimmune diseases do not have cures, patients often bear a lifetime of illness. In addition to the debilitating symptoms and large medical expenses, autoimmune diseases disproportionately affect women. Therefore, it is important to predict and prepare for the changing landscape of health outcomes that are associated with these conditions. Several autoimmune conditions have been linked to age-related diseases, including cancer and dementia. The underlying mechanism for this association is not fully known, but common genetic predisposition and chronic inflammation have been proposed. Circulating autoantibodies can serve as biomarkers for early diagnoses and provide opportunities for therapeutic interventions. Since autoantibodies may be detected in asymptomatic individuals even decades before the clinical symptom emerges, many studies have evaluated the predictability of autoantibodies to the eventual development of overt clinical autoimmune disease. Only a paucity of data exists on using autoimmune disease-associated autoantibodies to track their level of change with time and also predict cancer risk or other age-related conditions. Multiplex technologies such as protein microarrays enable the exploration of the intricacy of the immune system not only as a single measure but also of relationships between the biomarkers. Many autoimmune diseases do not have a single autoantibody for clinical diagnoses, and studies have shown that a combination of multiple markers may give the best discrimination. Furthermore, autoimmune diseases often are a constellation of various autoimmune conditions co-occurring within the individual. The National Institute on Aging�s (NIA) aim is to construct autoantibody multiplex profiles using immunoproteomics to identify autoantibodies and investigate their association with prospective autoimmune diseases and other age-related diseases. Purpose and Objectives: To perform multiplex antibody assays using a high-throughput immunoproteomics approach to assess subclinical and preclinical autoimmune diseases and investigate their longitudinal change in an individual and also investigate their association with aging and age-related diseases in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA). Project requirements: The contractor shall construct and perform antibody array testing using a high-throughput immunoproteomics approach for ~300 proteins targeting selected autoantigens and ~1,500 blood samples. The contractor must construct and perform antibody assays for tens of thousands of antigens in hundreds of samples AND for hundreds of antigens in tens of thousands of samples. The contractor should support data analysis and interpretation. The contractor needs to be proficient in high-throughput multiplex assays for disease-associated antibodies, as demonstrated by peer-reviewed publications, meeting presentations, and/or other scientific reports. Specific requirements for the assay platforms are as follows. Well-folded and often functional protein antigens, including conformational epitopes Use of freshly produced full-length antigens Easy data interpretation of target antigens of disease-associated antibodies Flexible and expedient adjustment of antigen contents Flexible with producing antigens using different expression systems Capable of assaying both human and microbial antigens simultaneously High-yield protein features with high sensitivity Quantitatively reproducible Compatible with the adaptive experimental design. Target antigens and the number and type of samples are subject to change as data are generated Other important considerations: The government will obtain and ship the samples, select markers to be included in the immunoproteomics array, and communicate with the contractors on the process of laboratory testing. The contract will not require access to any government facilities. Capability statement /information sought. Companies that believe they possess the capabilities to provide the required services should submit documentation of their ability to meet each of the project requirements to the Contracting Officer. The capability statement must specifically address each of the project requirements separately.� Additionally, the capability statement should include 1) the total number of employees, 2) the professional qualifications of personnel as it relates to the requirements outlined, 3) any contractor GSA Schedule contracts and/or other government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs) by which all of the requirements may be met, if applicable, and 4) any other information considered relevant to this program. Capability statements must also include the Company Name, Unique Entity ID from SAM.gov, Physical Address, and Point of Contact Information. The response must include the respondents� technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. Interested companies are required to identify their type of business, applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code, and size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone number of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, please reference the solicitation notice number. One (1) copy of the response is required and must be in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format using 11-point or 12-point font, 8-1/2� x 11� paper size, with 1� top, bottom, left and right margins, and with single or double spacing. The information submitted must be in and outline format that addresses each of the elements of the project requirement and in the capability statement /information sought paragraphs stated herein.� A cover page and an executive summary may be included but is not required. The response is limited to ten (10) page limit.� The 10-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested. All responses to this notice must be submitted electronically to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer.� Facsimile responses are NOT accepted. The response must be submitted to Andrea Clay, Contract Specialist (Andrea.McGee@nih.gov) and Karen Mahon, Contracting Officer (Karen.Mahon@nih.gov). � The response must be received on or before July 25, 2023 at 1:00 pm, Eastern Time. �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 presolicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in www.sam.gov. 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).�
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
(https://sam.gov/opp/6c05219ec93447f5b6dff0afe0cb3754/view)
- Record
- SN06744689-F 20230713/230711230057 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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