Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

Amendment #1 (7/2/2021): The heading/title of this announcement is updated from "Procurement of one (1) Agilent Technologies Artisan Link Pro Special Stains System" to "Procurement of one (1) Agilent ... Amendment #1 (7/2/2021): The heading/title of this announcement is updated from "Procurement of one (1) Agilent Technologies Artisan Link Pro Special Stains System" to "Procurement of one (1) Agilent Technologies Artisan Link Pro Special Stains System or Equivalent" This Small Business Sources Sought Notice (SBSS) is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to identify qualified small business concerns including 8(a), HUBZone or Service-Disabled Veteran-owned business concerns that are interested in and capable of performing the work described herein. The NCI does not intend to award a contract based on responses received nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. 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 American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code should not submit a response to this notice. This requirement is assigned NAICS code 334516 with a size standard of 1,000 employees is being considered. NCI may issue a request for quotation (RFQ) as a result of this Sources Sought Notice. THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against NCI shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought Notice or the NCI’s use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement. 1.0 BRAND NAME OR EQUAL This requirement is for the procurement of the brand name or equivalent instrument described in section 4.0. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision FAR 52.211-6, Brand Name or Equal (AUG 1999) is applicable to this requirement. 2.0 BACKGROUND The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Center for Cancer Research (CCR), Laboratory of Pathology (LP), requires an automated staining system that provides consistent staining of tissue microanatomy that will assist in identifying connective tissue, carbohydrate, pigments, minerals, amyloid, and microorganisms. These stains provide valuable information which aid the pathologist in diagnosing and characterizing various pathological conditions including neoplasia, inflammation, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases. 3.0 TYPE OF ORDER The resulting award shall be a Firm Fixed-Price Purchase Order. 4.0 PRODUCT FEATURES/SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS The required Agilent Technologies Artisan Link Pro Special Stains System or equivalent shall: Provide an optimized workflow compared to manual staining by allowing 48 slides from more than 10 special stain tests to be stained simultaneously without the need for a technologist to transfer slides from reagent-to-reagent to complete the staining process as is required with manual staining. Provide a menu of at least 29 staining options. Include an onboard drying capability and deparaffinization which allows for minimum delay in the staining patient slides. This feature eliminates an additional first step of preparing the slides for staining. Typically drying and deparaffinization is a 30-minute process that occurs after microtomy, before the slides are placed on to the special staining instrument. Include an optimized waste management through the separation of combined dyes, water soluble solutions, trace metals, and alcohols. Accumulating this waste in separate containers allows for easy disposal by the Histopathology staff and the National Institutes of Health’s chemical waste team. Include the DakoLink Software or equivalent which shall allow for staining optimization down to the minute, providing pinpoint testing accuracy. Include an ethernet switch that provides the Histopathology Laboratory with the ability to connect the instrument to the NIH network, giving the department the ability to interface the instrument with the laboratory information systems (softpathDX) in the future. Include a handheld barcode scanner to provide technologist with the capability to scan the slide barcode that will then upload the case number into the software, minimizing manual typing of patient labels. Additionally, the instrument shall include a stand for barcode scanner to ensure technologist have a designated place to store the barcode scanner to prevent it from becoming damaged through day-to-day usage. Include a Powervar UPS or equivalent to provide the instruments with emergency power. In instances of power outages, the patient samples shall be unaffected. Include a physical server to eliminate the need for the Histopathology Laboratory to search for a computer with compatible specifications to operate the staining instrument. 4.1 DELIVERY / INSTALLATION Delivery shall be within 6 weeks of the Purchase Order award. The Contractor shall coordinate delivery and tracking information with the NCI Technical Point of Contact (TPOC), TBD at award, with tracking information to anticipate delivery to the best extent possible. Upon delivery, the Contractor shall notify the TPOC to schedule installation. The installation date and time shall occur within 14 calendar days after delivery. Installation shall be performed by, or under the direct supervision of, an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) certified operator. The instrument shall be delivered and installed at the following location: 10 Center Drive Room 2S259 Bethesda, MD 20892 4.2 TRAINING The Contractor shall provide one day of onsite training within 14 calendar days of installation for five histotechs. 4.3 WARRANTY The Contractor shall warrant that any instruments, equipment, components, or other supplies (“Supplies”) procured by this purchase are free of defects in design, material, or manufacture for a period of at least 12-months from date of installation. The Contractor shall warrant that all consumables or expendable parts are free of defects in design, material, or manufacture for a period of at least 90 calendar days from date of acceptance by the Government. Supplies which are repaired or replaced shall be warranted for the remainder of the initial warranty period or for 90-days – whichever is greater. 5.0 RESPONSE DELIVERY POINT Capability statements shall be submitted via email to the Contracting Officer, Adam Hernandez, at adam.hernandez@nih.gov no later than 1:00 P.M. EST on Friday, May 9, 2021 (07/09/2021). All information furnished must be in writing and must contain enough detail to allow the NCI to determine if it can meet the unique specifications described herein. Please reference number 75N91021Q00133 on all correspondence. 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 capability. 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 RFQ may be published. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation(s).