Acquisitions Management Operations Branch, NIAID, 6003 Executive Blvd, Solar Building, Room 1C38, Contracts Section, Bethesda, MD 20892-7605

R -- SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE OPERATION OF LPD IN MALI SOL NIAID-DIR-99-54 DUE 070699 POC Karin E. Eddy, Contracting Officer (301) 496-3878 This acquisition requires the support of an infrastructure able to support the activities of the NIAID in Mali. Among these are the collection of data and specimens of malaria parasites and mosquito vectors of malaria along with information related to the epidemiology and pathology of the disease in human populations in Mali. These data collections will require the availability and use of vehicles for travel to various sites and the staff to collect the data and specimens. It also requires the recruitment and enrollment of patients with malaria or who might be at risk for contracting malaria in order to test the efficacy of candidate malaria vaccines developed and safety tested at the NIH. The NIH has selected Mali as its primary site for malaria research because Mali is biologically and climatologically diverse. It provides models and situations for a wide range of transmission intensities from low level transmission in the North to seasonal transmission in the Sahel to year round transmission in irrigated areas. The Malaria Research and Training Center (MRTC) of the University of Mali has the only qualified malaria program in Mali. It is the only broad-based multidiscriplinary African staffed program in Africa capable of fully supporting all aspects of the NIH vaccine developement efforts where the support would come from African scientists. The MRTC facilities include insectaries, molecular biology capabilities, capacity for in vitro cultivation of malaria parasites and the capacity to support field evaluation of malaria vaccines. It is anticipated that a fixed price requirements type contract with a base year and two one-year options to extend the period of performance of the contract will be awarded. See numbered Note 22. No telephone requests for RFPs will be accepted. Posted 05/03/99 (W-SN327012). (0123)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0074 19990505\R-0002.SOL)